


Time Is Never Time At All (You Can Never Ever Leave Without Leaving a Piece of Youth)

by go_sullivan



Series: Time Is Never Time At All [1]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bizarre Love Triangle, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, F/M, LLF Comment Project, Long Live Feedback Comment Project, M/M, Major Character Deaths in an Alternate Timeline, Masked stranger, Multi, One-Sided Attraction, Stealth Crossover, Super Hoodie - Freeform, Time Travel Fix-It, aged up character, couple becomes a triad, like One-Sided Attraction that's complicated, the enemies to lovers time travel love triangle fic no one asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:15:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 47,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24735280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/go_sullivan/pseuds/go_sullivan
Summary: Mal didn't give her trust away so easily. If she was being honest, she could count on one hand the people she trusted to have her back: Jay, Evie, and Carlos. (But she wasn't honest and she would deny it if asked.)But when their first play for Fairy Godmother's wand goes sideways, Mal has to trust a masked stranger to rescue her. And now the masked stranger is involved not only in her plan to get the wand and bring down the barrier, but also wrapped up in her life. Mal finds herself not minding at all.Then there's the daughter of her mother's enemy, being a thorn in her side. Audrey just confuses her and it complicates things.But what's one more complicated thing in Mal's life? Nothing is ever easy.
Relationships: Ben/Evie (Disney: Descendants), Mal/Audrey Rose (Disney)
Series: Time Is Never Time At All [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1788616
Comments: 75
Kudos: 65





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is! The fic I just had to write because just one scene popped into my head and I decided to build a fic around it. And like everything I write it just became this whole thing. 
> 
> The title is from _Tonight, Tonight_ by The Smashing Pumpkins. Which love that song.
> 
> Because the city I live in went into lockdown, I decided to re-watch _MISFITS_. I also just wanted to write a Mal/Audrey fic. So here it is. A Superhoodie!AU but like really loosely based.

Mal had a plan. A very stupid plan. But at least this way Jay, Carlos, and Evie could get away while she distracted the security guards. So if they caught her she could say it was all her idea. That the others had nothing to do with this. Only she would get set back to the Isle. Her gang could stay safe in Auradon.

She hoped it wouldn't come to that. She just had to find out of this maze of a museum.

“Lost your way?” A voice whispered from her right. “Come with me.”

Mal looked over. Standing by a passageway that hadn’t been there before, was a hooded figure dressed in black. She shook her fist while she debated whether or not to trust this stranger or to take her chances.

“Check over by the Magical Medicine exhibit.” Mal could see the beam of light right in front of the entrance to the gallery she was hiding in. It stopped. 

“Why are we doing this again? Nothing’s here,” someone whined. 

“Hey, when a princess calls and makes demands we follow up. Her grandmother is a Patron of the museum.”

“I get it. Rich people call the shots.”

“Look, the kid is always polite when she visits. Unlike some of the other snobs. She’s shown up with donuts and coffee a few times.”

“I mean, am I wrong? My cousin could call up and say she thinks someone is robbing the museum but you wouldn’t take her as seriously.”

“That’s just the way it is.”

“Where’s Frank anyway?”

“If I know Frank, he’s probably taking a nap. We’ll check this gallery and then go.” 

Mal didn’t see another way out. She had picked a dead end. There were no windows and the only way out was where the security guards were standing. She hurried over to the stranger in a crouch. 

The stranger pulled her inside and closed the panel. “Nice of you to join me.” 

“Who are you?” Mal narrowed her eyes. 

“You can trust me.”

The voice belonged to a woman. 

“Yeah nothing screams trust me like someone dressed in all black and hiding their face, sneaking around in the dark.” Mal crossed her arms. 

The stranger laughed. “Were you not just sneaking around yourself?”

“Yeah, well.” Mal huffed. “What is this?”

“A secret passage.” Mal heard a click and buzzing. Suddenly, they were washed in an orange light. They were at the top of some stairs. At the bottom was some kind of tunnel with lightbulbs evenly spaced every few feet, but not enough to see the end. 

“I know that! Obviously. I mean this. You being here.” Mal looked the stranger up and down.

The woman was dressed head to toe in black, which Mal realized was some kind of body armor, almost like what some do-gooder knight out to slay a dragon would wear. But it wasn’t plate metal. It could pass for the leather armor people back on the Isle pieced together from scraps, yet it had the feel of something that Evie designed. And still Mal could feel something more from it. Like a buzz of magic. So while it looked and moved like leather, Mal knew it was stronger than that. The figure also had a hood pulled up, casting a shadow over their face. Which Mal thought was overkill, because the woman was already wearing a mask. Mal would never say it outloud, but the whole look was badass. 

“You know most people say thank you when you save their ass.” The Stranger chuckled.

Even though Mal couldn’t see the Stranger’s face, she just knew they were smirking behind their weird mask. “I didn’t think people in Auradon used such language.”

“Well, we’re full of surprises here. Come on.” The Stranger waved her forward.

“Why does a museum need a secret passage?” Mal followed behind. 

“This used to be an estate of a noble that threw in with the villains. They’d have meetings here and it’s not like Hook and Jafar could be seen using the front door. He lost everything when the villains lost. This house was sold as restitution for the victims of the war.” The Stranger turned back to look at her. “Then it was turned into the museum you just tried to rob.”

“We weren’t-” Mal decided to change the subject. “Who was it? Maybe I know him from the Isle.”

“He didn’t make it to the Isle.” She gruffed out. “Took his own life. And it’s not like he was worth being back to life.”

“Oh.” This conversation got dark quick. And while she was used to dark, she didn’t want to think about what people did when they got caught doing evil while she had been doing the same. “You know a lot about this building.”

“Yeah.” The Stranger laughed. “I spent a lot of time here growing up. Got friendly with the guards. Frank showed me this passage. Not that many guards know about it. I was excited since I’m something of a history buff.”

The passage had come to an end with a rusted ladder missing the bottom rungs. It started halfway up the wall. 

“I’ve got you.” The Stranger had her hands on Mal’s hips and picked her up. Startled, Mal grabbed onto the woman’s biceps. She felt her toned arms as she lifted her up to reach the ladder. _Buff is right_ , Mal thought to herself.

“History, huh?” Mal mocked, as she looked back down at the Stranger. 

“We learn from the mistakes of our past. And from the mistakes of others. Study what they did wrong. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned,” the Stranger let out a bitter laugh as she pulled herself up. “To repeat it.”

Above Mal’s head was a grate. She pushed it up and moved it aside. She climbed out. Mal had no idea where they were. 

“Okay, weirdo. Thanks for whatever this was.” Mal waved her hand in dismissal. “But I got it from here.” Mal started walking away.

“Auradon Prep is that way.” The Stranger called after her. 

“Right.” Mal took a step in the direction the Stranger was pointing. 

“You won’t make it back in time!”

Mal stopped walking. But she didn’t turn around.

“Your friends had a head start. Plus this passage spit us out further away from the school. And you won’t be able to sneak back into your room without getting caught.” The Stranger led Mal to a motorcycle. “Hop on.” 

Mal grinned. There was at least one interesting person in Auradon. She got on the back of the motorcycle.

“So how did you know we would be at the museum?” Mal loudly asked.

“When you arrived you said magic wand way too many times. So I figured,” the Stranger chuckled. “You were going after FG’s wand.”

“Was it that obvious?” Mal wrapped her arms tighter around the Stranger’s waist. 

“After I had some time to reflect.” The Stranger sounded amused, like she was in on some joke Mal wasn’t in on.

“You were there?” Mal’s brows furrowed.

“As part of the overwhelming welcome wagon? I was.”

Mal tried to remember the faces of everyone that was there. 

“I can hear you thinking. Don’t worry about it. Like I said you can trust me.”

That eliminated Audrey. She did not trust that prissy pink princess at all.

“Here we are. Less of a chance of being seen from the windows if we go to the side of the school.” 

The Stranger pulled up as close as she could to the castle wing their dorm was in. They crept through one of the many, many gardens until they were right underneath the window of her and Evie’s room. She could see Evie pacing back and forth looking worried. 

“I can’t believe they gave you guys a room on the first floor. And at the end of the hall. It’s like they wanted you to sneak out. Which, how did you guys sneak out in the first place?”

“We just walked out the front door,” Mal mumbled embarrassed. Saying it outloud made them sound so lame. 

“That says a lot more about Auradon than it says about you. But of course, it’s a lot harder to get back in,” The Stranger looked up. “The quickest way is up instead of going through the rest of the garden to get to your other window. How good are you at climbing?”

“Pretty good,” Mal admitted. Jay had taught her a few tricks. He wanted them all to know how to escape if he wasn’t there to protect them and they couldn’t stab their way out of a bad situation.

“It’s not that high. I’ll give you a boost.” The Stranger waved her over and then cupped her hands. 

Mal smirked. She’d show this stranger just what she could do.

In situations where she was forced to choose between fight or flight, Mal usually picked fight. It's how her gang ended up with so much territory. She was feared. But just because she stood her ground didn't mean she didn't know how to sneak around. 

She ran at the wall. Once her foot made contact with the wall, she pushed up. Her hands missed the windowsill. She fell backwards.

And landed in the arms of the Stranger. Mal blushed at how close the two of them were. She flailed around and the Stranger put her down.

“Not a word.” Mal couldn’t look at the Stranger.

“I saw nothing.” The Stranger shrugged. “So about that boost.”

If Mal didn’t need to be in her room as soon as possible, she would have shown the Stranger she could nail the wall run. But she swallowed her pride. 

The Stranger crouched down and cupped her hands together again. “I’m sure your thief friend taught you this too.”

Jay had. He had taken her on some of his heists back on the Isle. He’d boost her up into windows and she’d let him inside. They’d do a little breaking and entering for fun. She loved the thrill and the challenge. 

Mal stepped up into the Stranger’s hands. The Stranger didn’t struggle to lift her to her shoulders. Mal got her feet on the Stranger’s shoulders. 

“You should try out for cheerleading.” The Stranger held onto Mal’s boots. “You’d be a good flier.”

“Ew.” Mal reached the window of her and Evie’s dorm. She slid it open. 

“Mal!” Evie came to her aid. She pulled her inside the room. “Where have you been?”

“Long story,” Mal let out a puff of air, as if she was trying to get the setbacks of the night out of her system. 

Evie was looking past Mal. She turned around to see what had caught her best friend’s attention. The Stranger had her leg over the windowsill and was climbing into their room.

“What the hell,” Mal hissed. “You can’t be here.”

The Stranger just grabbed her and dragged her to the ensuite bathroom. She turned on the shower. “Trust me. Get in!”

Mal started taking off her clothes and hopped in the shower. 

The door to the bathroom opened the minute she was under the spray from the shower head. 

“I told you she was taking a shower!” Evie’s shout carried into the bathroom.

“Excuse me! Do you mind!” Mal popped her head out from behind the shower curtain. 

Audrey let out a choked noise as she covered her eyes with her hands. The Princess stumbled back towards the door. She hit the door jam in her rush to get out of the bathroom. The door quickly shut and Mal laughed at making the daughter of her mother’s enemy look foolish.

There was a knock at the door. “Mal, this is the RA, Melody. When you’re done, could you come out here?”

“Yeah. I’ll be right out.”

Mal grabbed a fluffy robe that was hanging right outside the shower curtain and put it on. She stepped out of the tub. The Stranger was nowhere to be seen. Mal left the bathroom.

Standing in their dorm room were Audrey and an older girl with black hair.

“Hi, Mal. I’m your Resident Advisor, Melody. Audrey came to me with a concern. That you were out after curfew.” Melody for her part, looked annoyed at being in their dorm room. The older girl was already dressed for bed. 

“They were! I came by earlier. They weren’t here. So I called the Museum and told them to be careful! They’re villains!” Audrey pointed a finger at Mal.

“Audrey! That’s enough. Sorry for the misunderstanding. If you have any problems, just come find me.” Melody smiled gently at both Villain Kids before leaving. 

Audrey stayed behind to hurl accusations. “You’re up to something. I know it! And I’m going to prove it.”

The Princess turned on her heel and left the room.

Once they were alone, Mal and Evie started to laugh. 

“That was too close,” Evie caught her breath.

“We got away with it, didn’t we?” Mal’s grin was wide and self-congratulatory. “And these Auradon dorks don’t even know. Too bad we didn’t get the wand.”

“But Audrey called the museum,” Evie bit her lip. “She’s onto us. Luckily, Carlos took care of the security footage since I’m sure she’s going to be all over that. We have to be more careful.”

“Please,” Mal scoffed. “I’m not worried about Audrey.”

The Stranger dropped down from the ceiling of the bathroom. Evie screamed a little bit before Mal covered the other girl's mouth with her hand.

“Were you up there while I was taking a shower?” Mal narrowed her eyes.

The Stranger stretched her arms above her head, then rolled her neck, which resulted in a small pop. “Sorry. It was the only place to hide. I didn’t look. That would be highly inappropriate.”

“Right, you’re from Auradon after all. All prim and proper,” Mal snickered.

“Um, hello.” Evie gave a small wave.

“Good evening, princess.” The Stranger bowed.

Evie cocked her head to the side, studying the Stranger in front of her. “Pleased to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine.”

Evie giggled at the Stranger’s charm. Mal huffed, feeling something in her chest.

“I knew Audrey would do something like this,” the Stranger looked at the door, letting out a big sigh. Then she looked at Mal. “Watch out for her. I’ve got your backs, but I can’t be everywhere.”

Evie nodded eagerly. Mal gave the Stranger a look of disbelief. She knew what she was doing. After all, Mal had made it this far. Careless got you dead on the Isle of the Lost.

“Ladies,” the Stranger gave them a small salute before jumping out the window.

Evie and Mal hurried to the window. They watched as the Stranger made her escape, jumping and flipping over hedges and stone railings.

“Such an asshole,” Mal whispered to herself but she found herself impressed and intrigued by the Stranger more and more.

“Wow, one day in Auradon and you already have a Knight in Shining Armor,” Evie teased Mal, bumping her shoulder with her own.

“It’s not like that,” Mal protested as they got ready for bed. “And she wasn’t even in shining armor.”

“Well, a black knight then.” Evie waggled her eyebrows suggestively. 

“Evie!” Mal threw a pillow at her friend, who easily caught it. 

“Let’s go to sleep.” Evie threw the pillow back at her friend. “We have class tomorrow. I want to be well rested to meet some more royals.”

“Ugh. Don’t remind me.” Mal got into her bed.

But Mal couldn't fall asleep, no matter how disgustingly comfortable the bed was.

Mal wondered who the Stranger really was underneath the mask. Her mind raced with questions. What was the real reason for saving Mal? Would they cross paths again? Would the Stranger help or hinder their mission for the wand? Why couldn’t she stop thinking about her?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After failing to take the wand the night before, the Core Four attend their first day of class. They also try out for some extracurricular activities. 
> 
> And Mal thinks of the Masked Stranger that rescued her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that read the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it!

The four of them had a whole classroom to themselves. Of course they were the only students taking Remedial Goodness. Fairy Godmother was in front, droning on and on.

Mal was distracted, thinking about the Stranger. She wondered if she had passed her in the halls. But none of the other students acknowledged her aside from polite smiles or avoiding her gaze. 

Well, that wasn’t completely true. Audrey had glared at her every time their paths had crossed.

Mal was sketching a picture of the Stranger in her mask and armor. She had committed the details to memory. In the calm of the class, she thought about the details on the armor. There was a dragon in the center of the breast plate and thorns curling around the arm and leg guards. She was no closer to figuring out the person behind the mask though. She didn’t even know the color of the Stranger’s eyes.

“Mal?”

“Hmm?” Mal looked up at Fairy Godmother. 

“If someone hands you a baby, do you: A, Curse it. B, Lock it in a tower. C, Give it a bottle?” The Fairy Godmother flashed her teeth, a flicker of hope in her eyes. 

“C. Give it a bottle.” Mal went back to her drawing. 

“You are on fire, girl.” Carlos cheered her on.

“Just pick the one that doesn’t sound like any fun.” Mal shrugged. She didn’t really care about this class. She just wanted to leave. They still had to make a plan for the wand. So far she had nothing.

“Oh.” Evie bit her lip, thinking Mal’s tip over. 

Mal heard footsteps coming up behind them. While Remedial Goodness was boring, no one coming into the classroom would be interesting enough to bother wasting time to turn around in her seat. But Mal was ready in case it was someone about to attack her and her gang. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Carlos and Jay do the same. She knew that Evie had her compact out to see who it was. Evie shook her head. 

Whoever it was, wasn’t a threat.

It was just some girl. Who by the looks of her was scared of her own shadow. She held the clipboard close to her chest like a shield. The girl gave a small squeak and ran the rest of the way to the front of the class.

No way was she the smooth and confident Stranger from last night.

“Hello, dear one,” Fairy Godmother greeted her cheerfully.

“You need to sign off on early dismissal for the coronation.” There was a tremble in the girl’s voice.

Mal watched the girl glance back at them nervously. She picked up on the similar features between the girl and the Headmistress. They had to be related. She elbowed Evie, to make sure she was paying attention to the girl as well. 

“There’s no way that’s your black knight,” Evie whispered.

“Not that,” Mal hissed back. 

“Everyone here remembers my daughter, Jane?” Fairy Godmother nudged her daughter forward. “Jane, this is everyone.”

“That’s okay.” Jane’s eyes widened. “Don’t mind me. As you were.”

She definitely wasn’t the Stranger.

Once Jane had left, Fairy Godmother went back to the blackboard to ask the next question.

“You find a vial of poison. Do you: A, put it in the King’s wine. B, paint it on an apple. C, turn it into the proper authorities.”

Mal didn’t bother to raise her hand to answer. She was thinking about Jane. The girl could be their way to the wand.

“Jay,” Fairy Godmother called on the boy.

“C, turn it over to the proper authorities,” Jay smirked confidently.

“I was going to say that,” Carlos complained.

“But I said it first,” Jay wrapped his arm around Carlos and mussed the smaller boy’s hair. The two ended up wrestling on top of the table.

“Boys,” Fairy Godmother said firmly. Jay and Carlos actually stopped fighting. “I am going to encourage you boys to use that energy on the tourney field.”

Carlos fell back in his seat, looking alarmed. Jay sat back down with his arms over his chest. 

“And girls.” The older woman turned toward Mal and Evie. “Maybe you could join an extracurricular activity as well.”

“What?” Mal scoffed. “Like cheerleading?”

“That sounds like an excellent idea, Mal.” Fairy Godmother clapped her hands together. “I’ll talk to Audrey about it. She’s captain of the cheerleading squad.”

“Of course she is.” Mall rolled her eyes.

“Oh no. That’s okay,” Evie flashed a fake smile. “Those outfits aren’t very flattering. They could be improved upon.”

“There’s still plenty to do.” Fairy Godmother wasn’t deterred. “Audrey is in a lot of clubs here. I’m sure she can help you out.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad, Mal.” Evie looked excited. “We can meet some princes.”

“Yes. Clubs are a good way to make friends.” Fairy Godmother corrected. 

It wouldn’t hurt to play along. Looking into clubs could lead them to find other ways to get the wand. And maybe she could find her Stranger.

But standing on the tourney field with Audrey was making Mal regret her decision. 

Luckily Evie and Mal didn’t have to wear the pleated skirts. Evie actually seemed disappointed at that despite her earlier statements about the cheerleading uniforms. Instead, they were wearing blue shorts and yellow shirts that said Auradon Prep Physical Education.

“I have to let everyone that wants to try out for cheerleading try out. It’s called being fair. Since you wouldn’t know what that is.” Audrey had her hands on her hips. 

Mal scoffed. “I don’t want to try out. I’m here against my will.”

“And to support our boys!” Evie waved at Jay and Carlos. “Woo! Go Jay and Carlos!”

Jay gave Evie a salute and flexed his arms. The other cheerleaders giggled. Carlos gave Evie a small wave back. Mal was surprised to see Ben waving as well. 

“Aww,” Evie cooed. “Your boyfriend is really sweet.”

“Yeah. My boyfriend is the sweetest.” Audrey glared at Evie.

“You must love cheering for him. That’s so cute.” Evie cocked her head, eyes raking over Audrey from head to toe. She licked her lips. 

Mal snickered at how that threw the princess off. Audrey ducked her head. Mal knew that Evie liked to flirt and was good at it, so she knew the difference between when the other girl was trying to get her way or was genuinely interested. With Audrey it was bizarrely the latter. Mal could not for the life of her figure the attraction.

Sure the pink princess was beautiful, with wide brown eyes and shiny, wavy hair. And the short skirt Audrey had on showed off toned legs. Plus the girl could scowl and sneer like anyone from the Isle, a little nasty which Mal liked. But there was nothing else there. The girl was kind of like a perfect picture, but the closer you looked there were cracks. 

“It’s so cute,” one of the other cheerleaders answered. 

“So what’s so hard about cheerleading?” Mal stepped up. “Just shouting at sweaty boys?”

“It’s more than that, Mal. You have a team, don’t you? I bet the four of you have each other’s backs. No matter what.” Audrey turned to Evie. “You wouldn’t leave Mal behind, right?”

“N-no.” Evie looked at Mal apologetically. The girl was feeling guilty for last night at the museum. Which wasn’t on Evie. Mal has ordered them all to run while she had stayed behind. 

“I know, Evie. I know.” Mal nodded.

“And Mal, you wouldn’t let Evie fall? You’d catch her? Take the fall for her?” Audrey was almost in Mal’s personal space. 

Mal narrowed her eyes at Audrey. So that’s what she was getting at. 

“I’d catch her in a heartbeat. If you think, you can just-“

“Good. Because that’s what cheerleading is. It’s about trust. We hold each other up. We throw girls into the air. If there’s no trust, it all comes crashing down on our heads. If there’s no trust, people get hurt.” Audrey stared Mal down. “Do you get what I’m saying?”

“Loud and clear, Princess,” Mal gritted out.

Audrey didn’t trust them at all. 

And was threatening her and hers. Mal was impressed. It took guts to stand up to her. But she wouldn’t let that slide. 

“You think you have what it takes?” Audrey challenged.

“I’ll show you,” Mal fired back.

Audrey nodded at one of the other cheerleaders. Then she turned back to face them. “So you guys know the cheer?” 

“Obviously no,” Mal drawled. 

“Everyone knows the cheer,” Audrey said in a condescending tone.

“Obviously not.” 

“Try to keep up.” Audrey smirked. “F! I! G! H! T! What’s that spell! Fight! Fight! Fight!” Each cheer of the word “fight” was accompanied by a clap. Each girl had a perky smile.

It was simple enough. Mal and Evie were able to follow along. Evie was pulling it off better than her. They went through more cheers with the choreography getting more complex. They did jumps, the names of which Mal couldn’t keep track of. She didn’t care for herkies. 

Everyone’s shouts of excitement were genuine when Jay scored a goal during the scrimmage. Except for Audrey, who just glared.

“Acceptable, Evie,” Audrey said once they were done. She said nothing to Mal.

Evie grinned happily. Mal rolled her eyes.

“Now, here’s where we shine. The stunts!” Audrey gave a sly smile. “Mal, you look like you’d be a good flier.”

Evie had her hand raised.

Audrey nodded at her. “Evie.”

“That’s the one that you throw into the air, right?” Evie beamed.

“Right you are, Evie. But first, Buffy, Quinn, and Torrance are going to show you how it’s done. The girls are going to perform a prep followed by a pop cradle.” Audrey seemed to forget who she was talking to since she was explaining each role carefully with easy to understand instructions. It was easy to see how she was made captain. There was a passion in her eyes. Mal was fascinated by the change. 

Audrey went to stand behind the three blonde girls. Quinn, the flier was in the middle of Buffy and Torrance, the bases. Buffy and Torrance pushed Quinn up, while Quinn pushed down on their shoulders making her go straight up into the air. Audrey, acting as what Mal was told to be the spotter, had her hands on Quinn’s waist and helped lift the blonde up. Quinn popped up. Buffy and Torrance held her steady. 

“Pop cradle! Ready! One, two,” Audrey called out. “Down up!”

Quinn was tossed up in the air. Evie gave off an impressed noise. Mal just scoffed. Buffy, Torrance and Audrey caught her as she came down. 

“Mal, I think you can manage a double base thigh stand,” Audrey gave a smirk. The girl’s hands were on her hip and she was leaning forward. The attitude was back. Mal wanted to knock that smirk right off her face. But that’s what Audrey wanted. 

Instead Mal sneered. “No. I think I’ll be doing the prep and pop cradle.”

“If you’re sure?” Audrey’s smile flashed too many teeth.

“Oh. I’m sure.” Mal bared her teeth right back.

“Audrey, this isn’t a good idea,” Buffy interrupted. Some of the other girls agreed.

“She could get hurt,” Quinn glared.

Mal figured that was the idea. 

“Then we better not drop her.”

Again, Buffy and Torrance were the bases. Audrey was the spotter. But Mal took Quinn’s spot as flier. The small blonde stood in front worriedly. She was joined by Evie. The other girls decided to just watch. 

Mal could do this. She and Jay had done stuff like this when they were getting up to trouble back on the Isle. Lifts and climbing were easy. The difference was that she trusted Jay with her life and Audrey had it out for her. 

She’d show her.

Buffy and Torrance lifted her up. Mal pushed herself up. She tried not to squirm while Audrey had her hands on her waist. But she got through it. Mal popped up and threw her hands up in the air. So there. 

Mal was caught by the girls. Audrey had caught her under the arms.

Everyone cheered and clapped for Mal. She curtsied just to annoy Audrey.

It worked. 

“Beginner's luck. Again,” the princess ordered.

“Audrey,” Torrance warned. But she went ignored.

“Guys. I got this.” Mal waved them off. She winked at Audrey. “Ready when you are.”

They ran it down again. Mal popped up in the air. But this time she wobbled just a bit. Gravity was working against her this time. She fell backwards.

And into the arms of Audrey. 

The princess grunted under the strain. She teetered a bit. But Audrey didn’t drop her. 

Buffy and Torrance helped Mal to her feet. Evie was at her side in an instance.

“Are you okay?” Torrance asked as she looked Mal over for any injuries. 

For a split second Audrey actually looked concerned before a look of contempt took over. “I said I wasn’t going to drop her.”

“Not cool, Audrey. Mal could have broken her neck,” Quinn glared at her.

“But she didn’t!” Audrey crossed her arms.

“We better go. Practice is over. Mal, Evie. It was nice meeting you both. Come on, girls.” Buffy turned and left the field. 

The rest of the squad followed. One of the girls mouthed sorry at Audrey before leaving. Another one just shrugged and joined the others.

Audrey’s face twisted into fury. Mal was actually hoping to see the girl explode. Something other than the controlled and perfect expressions everyone in Auradon pretended to have.

No such luck.

The princess clenched her eyes shut and balled her hands into fists. She took a deep breath. The transformation was startling. 

“Well,” Audrey clapped her hands together. “Thank you ever so much for coming to practice.”

She walked off the field. 

But soon Jay and Carlos joined Mal and Evie.

“Wow. I thought Audrey was going to destroy you. It was scary, but also funny. It looked like she was about to have an aneurysm.” Carlos put a closed hand next to his hand and opened it, miming an explosion. “Boogh!”

“Nice!” Jay high fived him.

“That was her princess training. She couldn’t. But she wanted to,” Evie giggled. “And that was a devious plan. Falling on purpose. Getting everyone to feel sorry for you and to turn them against Audrey.”

“Yeah. That was the plan.” Mal bit her lip. She was feeling something. It had to be the worst. Working so hard to build something and then just have someone show up and ruin everything you worked for. Mal would hate to have that happen to her. She just did that to Audrey.

Then again, Audrey had tried to trip Mal up and get her to admit she was up to something. And she had also attempted to embarrass Mal. But it had backfired spectacularly on her. It all worked out for the Villain Kids. 

Sucks to suck.

“Get back at her for calling the guards and the RA on us,” Jay threw his arm around Mal’s shoulders. “Aim for us, you best not miss!”

“Ugh. Get off me.” Mal picked his hand up and unfurled his arm from her shoulder. “You’re all sweaty.” 

“You got it, cheerleader!”

“Stop! There’s no way in hell,” Mal growled.

“Be aggressive! Be, be aggressive!” Carlos joined in on the teasing. 

“You’re dead!” Mal laughed and chased after the boys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter!
> 
> Any feedback would be appreciated. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Especially at Mal and Evie trying out for cheerleading.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal schemes. The Stranger gets a name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter. Thanks to everyone for reading and for the kudos and comments as well.

Evie and Mal had changed back into their Isle clothes, and were now at their lockers. Mal was admiring her artwork. She had spray painted a silhouette of Maleficent in black and bright green with the words “Long Live Evil” across it. The art stood out against the boring blue lockers. 

But movement from the corner of her eyes caught her attention. 

Ben and Audrey seemed to be having a heated discussion. There was another teen with them. Mal recognized him from the tourney team. He didn’t look happy as he stood behind Audrey. It was obvious he had her back, like some sort of henchman or minion.

It was also obvious that the three of them were talking about Mal. They weren’t subtle at all with the glances in her direction. 

“So what do you think?” 

“About Audrey? She’s the worst. Why’d you bother flirting with her?” Mal leaned against the lockers.

Evie just giggled as she clutched her textbooks. “She’s cute and I have my reasons. But I was talking about Ben.”

“Oh. Well, he’s okay.” Mal shrugged. He seemed nice enough. Which was why he wasn’t her type. 

“Too bad he’s with Audrey,” Evie sighed. 

“I have no idea why,” Mal huffed. 

Evie just gave Mal a look.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Evie shook her head with a small smile. “When Fairy Godmother said sharing was good, I get the feeling sharing a boyfriend is not what she meant.” 

It was Mal’s turn to laugh.

The two of them watched the three young royals. Audrey’s mouth pressed into a thin line and she looked upwards. The princess hurried away. The blond guy shook his head and followed Audrey. 

Mal watched her go.

“Oh, he’s coming this way,” Evie nudged Mal. 

Indeed, the future King of Auradon was walking towards them.

“Hey, how was your first day?” Ben asked both girls.

“Super,” Mal said with false sincerity. 

“It was amazing. Everything I hoped for,” Evie beamed at Ben.

“Then I'm glad,” Ben smiled brightly. 

Mal wanted to roll her eyes. Instead she blew a strand of hair out of her face.The movement got Ben’s attention, reminding him she was there too.

“You should really think about taking this talent off the locker and into art class.” Ben nodded toward the graffiti Mal had done on their lockers. “And I think you could make banners and posters, too! You know other ways to show school spirit.”

“You heard about what happened at cheerleading, huh?” Mal chuckled. 

“I mean I was there. Even if you don’t make the team, you can still do other things around school. Other clubs.” Ben looked between the two of them. “And I also heard about Audrey going to your dorm room.”

“Oh that wasn’t too bad,” Evie cut in. “I’d be suspicious of us too.”

“That’s why I think you should join more activities! Let people get to know you all better,” Ben gave Evie a warm smile. Mal wondered if the future king was always smiling. The thought made her face hurt. “What about you, Evie? What are you into?”

“Princes.”

Mal snorted. Ben let out a roar of laughter.

“But, really. I don’t know. Auradon has so much to offer. I want to try everything.” Evie’s eyes were filled with excitement.

“I hope you get to try everything too, Evie.”

Mal spotted Jane hurrying along. Now was her chance to talk to the girl.

“Thanks for the advice, Ben. In fact,” Mal clapped her hands, “there’s Jane. Maybe she has some ideas. Evie, I’ll see you back at the room?”

“Bye, Mal,” Evie called after her. 

Mal left Evie alone with Ben. She was on a mission.

Mal followed behind Jane quietly. The girl was nervous, but Mal figured that was just her default setting. The girl was alone and didn’t seem to have friends. Even in Auradon, they travelled in packs. But Jane just continued on with few friendly greetings thrown her way. The girl was invisible. But maybe she didn’t want to be.

Jane ducked into the bathroom. Mal counted to three before following her in. She found the girl examining herself in the mirror, a look of misery and longing on her face. 

“Jane, right?” Mal asked as friendly and cheerful as she could manage.

The other girl startled, as if she wasn’t used to other people talking to her. Her eyes were wide. Mal got the feeling that Jane would be acting the same way even if it wasn’t a Villain Kid that had her cornered in the bathroom. 

“Ye-yeah,” Jane shook and avoided Mal’s eyes. Instead she looked to the door, ready to make a run for it. She was so ready to bolt that she was willing to leave her bag.

“Don’t go!” Mal shouted, her hand raised ready to use physical force to stop Jane if necessary. She tried not to cringe at how desperate she sounded. But maybe that would work here. She really needed to get the wand. “I guess I was just hoping to make a friend. But you probably have all the friends you need right?”

“Hardly,” Jane murmured sadly.

“Really, with your mom being Fairy Godmother? And Headmistress?” Mal feigned shock, her voice going a little too high. “Not to mention your own,” she watched as the other lit up with hope, waiting for a compliment. She squashed hope. It was a weakness. “Personality.”

Jane deflated right in front of her, smaller than before. “I’d rather be pretty. You’ve got great hair.”

Mal picked up a strand of her hair and looked at it. She was struck with an idea. If she gave Jane something she wanted, then maybe Jane would give her something in return. That’s how it worked. Nothing came for free.

“I have just the thing for that.” Mal whipped out her spellbook and smacked it against her palm, making Jane flinch at the noise. She flipped through the pages for the right spell. “Beware, forswear. Replace the old with brand new hair.”

Jane’s bob cut grew out into luscious waves. They both went to the mirror to admire the results, Jane because she was happy with the new look and Mal because she was happy with the feat of magic. The new style really suited the girl’s face. Evie would know more about it. The daughter of the Evil Queen would go on and on about face shapes and how to use makeup to highlight or diminish features. Mal just let Evie talk since the girl wanted to make up for years in exile. 

But Evie’s droning on came in handy at the moment.

A girl this insecure had to have other things she didn’t like about herself. She had watched the Evil Queen tear Evie down enough to know women were supposed to look a certain way. “Wow. You almost don’t notice your... other features anymore.”

Jane was an attractive girl. She had gorgeous eyes that really drew you in with a promise of getting to know her better. But people never seemed to realize what they had. They always focused on everyone else. 

Jane tapped the spellbook excitedly. “Do my nose!” 

Mal was happy to be proven right. The girl didn’t like her nose. She briefly wondered who got Jane to think so lowly of herself. But that wasn’t her problem. 

“Oh. I can’t. I’ve been practicing, but I can’t do really,” Mal gestured at Jane’s nose. “Big magic. Not like your mom. With her wand! One swoosh from that thing and you could probably have any feature you wanted.”

This was too easy. 

“She doesn’t use the wand anymore.” Jane ducked her head. “She believes the real magic is in the books. And not spell books. Regular books with history and stuff.”

Mal perked up at the mention of history. The Stranger liked history. She wouldn’t shut up about it last night. Not that she thought for a second that Jane could be the Stranger. The girl’s dismissal of it cemented it for her. 

But nevermind that. Mal could tell she was winning the other girl over. She just had to milk this more. Everyone knew how the Fairy Godmother had helped out Cinderella. The story was well known on the Isle. 

“You know she used magic on Cinderella. Who wasn’t even her real daughter. Doesn’t she love you?” Mal pouted as she threw that word around. 

Love was something they believed was powerful in Auradon. Mal knew of love, but she didn’t know what it felt like. On the Isle, love was a weakness. Love made people do stupid things. She was hoping to use that to get the wand. 

“Well, of course she does. It’s just tough love. ‘Work on the inside, not on the outside.’ You know, that sort of thing.” Jane looked down at the ground miserably as if she had heard her mother say that constantly and would always wonder why Cinderella got a magical makeover, but not her own daughter. 

“That’s the face!” Mal pointed out. She could give Jane some tips on manipulation. “Yeah. And then look as if your heart is going to break.” She schooled her face into one of misery and desperation. Just like a lot of faces back on the Isle. “Oh, mother. I just don’t understand why you can’t make me beautiful, too.”

“Think it would work?” Jane asked excitedly, ready to believe anything.

“Yeah,” Mal chuckled. Of course it would. It was her plan, everyone in Auradon was a sucker. “I mean that’s what little, ol’ Cindy did before your mother bippity-boppity-boo’d the living daylights out of her.”

Jane nodded eagerly, happy to be part of something. Mal liked having that kind of control.

“And, hey,” Mal continued as she hopped up on the restroom counter. “If your mom ever decides to break out the wand, invite me!”

“If I can convince Mom, you’re so there!” Jane’s eyes were shining brightly. Having someone in her corner gave her confidence. Mal thought it was a better look on the girl. 

“Yay!” Mal drew the word out with as much cheer she could tolerate, which wasn’t very much.

“Bye!”

Mal waved the girl off.

One of the bathroom stalls opened. Mal’s heart leapt into her throat. For a split second, she thought she had been found out. She was ready to take all the blame. But then she realized whoever was in the stall couldn’t prove anything if they suspected her. 

Then she realized she was safe. 

“Do you always hide out in bathrooms to spy on me?”

The Stranger stepped out of the stall. Her body was tense and rigid. Mal went on the defense. She knew what someone ready for a fight looked like. 

“Be careful with Jane. Don’t hurt that girl. What the hell, Mal! You told her all that shit. She believes it. And you just made her obsess about it more. No wonder she grabbed...” The Stranger shook her head and looked at the ground. “Fuck. I should have been a better friend to her.”

The Stranger sounded disappointed, maybe even upset. Mal didn’t like seeing it. She felt a need to make it better. 

“Jane’s a great girl. Cute as a button. If you’re into that. Really.” Mal found herself taking a step towards the Stranger. “She’s just a means to an end. A way to get the wand.”

“It’s not just you. I’m guilty of the same thing. Making Jane feel worthless when I know exactly how that feels.” The Stranger’s shoulders slumped. “They always just say ‘Work on the inside, not on the outside.’ Like they’re magic words that make everything better. They never go deeper. It’s like putting a bandage on a stab wound. I’ll try to fix it somehow.”

The Stranger moved towards the window, her usual exit. Her boot was already on the propped up on the window edge. 

Mal found herself not wanting her to go.

“I tried out for cheerleading!” Mal blurted out. 

“I know. I saw,” The Stranger chuckled, as she took her boot off the sill. “I knew you’d be a good flier.” 

“I don’t think I’m going to make the cut.” Mal liked the sound of The Stranger’s laugh. She found herself joining in. “Audrey hates me.” 

“Audrey is…” The Stranger waved her hand, searching for a word. 

“A bitch?” Mal offered with a smirk. 

“Yeah. A bitch.” The Stranger held up her hands towards the door of the bathroom. She moved them intricately in a way that Mal couldn’t completely follow. “No one will interrupt us.”

“A spell?” Mal was excited to see someone else use magic. 

“A small one that will repel anyone from here.” Seeing Mal open her mouth, the Stranger quickly answered the question on her tongue. “It’s because of the armor. It won’t last long.”

“Now, Audrey,” The Stranger continued. “She’s very into appearances. She judges books by their covers. The stories she was told growing up, those happy endings her grandmother told her. That’s her whole world. No one likes finding out that everything they believed in was fake. That the people they grew up admiring and idolizing were wrong. So she’s clinging to that. If they’re wrong about you and your friends, what else in their world is wrong?”

Was the Stranger suggesting that Mal and her gang could be good? She was insulted. 

“Audrey isn’t wrong though,” Mal scowled. “We’re bad. We’re-”

“Rotten to the core?” The Stranger laughed bitterly. “You’re just kids doing their best to survive. Because every single adult in your lives has failed you.”

“If I wanted a lecture, I’d go to Fairy Godmother.” Mal crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t know why you care so much.”

“Why wouldn’t I care about other people?” 

Mal had never considered that. No one cared. 

“Then where were you when we were stuck on that Isle!” Mal fired back.

“You’re right.” The Stranger moved towards her. She reached out as if to touch her for some reason but pulled her hand back instead. ”I never thought about the children on the Isle before you arrived. Not many people here did. But you deserve a chance.”

“A chance at what?” Mal scoffed. “To be good?”

“To make your own path. Not be what anyone else expects of you. Not Audrey. Not your mother. You.”

Hardly anyone had ever concerned themselves with Mal’s wants and needs before. Here was someone asking her what she wanted for herself. She was more than Maleficent’s daughter. She was her own person. 

She didn’t want to think about that.

“You. What do I call you? I can’t keep thinking of you as the Stranger.” Evie had been referring to the other woman as Mal’s Dark Knight. She was putting a stop to that.

“Anything you want,” the Stranger’s tone was playful.

“Well, Pain in My Ass” works,” Mal challenged, a smirk on her face. 

“Language!” The Stranger teased. As if she hadn’t been swearing since the night they met. “Here in Auradon, we would say “A thorn in your side.” 

It was lame, but Mal let out a laugh.

“My friends call me that,” the Stranger added.

“What? A pain in the ass.” Mal raised an eyebrow. 

The Stranger shook her head, clearly amused. “Thorn.”

Mal had been here for a few days. She hadn’t heard anyone get called that in the halls. “You must not have very many friends.”

“Real ones? Not a lot of those. No.” “Thorn” shook her head as she made her way back to the window. 

“So you’re not going to tell me your real name?” Mal scrunched her face up. 

“Roz Thorn.” The Stranger chuckled, as if it was all just a game to her. 

“That’s the fakest name I’ve ever heard,” Mal complained.

“Hey, if I wanted you to know who I am, I wouldn’t be the dickhead in a mask.” Thorn gave her a salute and then jumped out the window. 

And then Mal was alone in the bathroom

...

Evie had just finished talking to Chad and Doug under the bleachers. Thorn’s heart had clenched at seeing everyone again. So young and innocent. Alive. 

She waited for Evie to pass her hiding spot.

“Hello, Princess,” she called out. 

Evie had startled and fell into a fighting position. The girl was without her squad and falling back on instincts from the Isle. It was only their second full day in Auradon. The children of Villains wouldn't feel safe just yet. “Oh, it’s you.” 

“Can I borrow a moment of your time?” She held her hands in front of her to show she meant no harm. The girl relaxed but still had her guard up. Evie kept her hand close to where she always kept a small blade. 

“Well, since you asked so kindly.” Evie beamed at her. 

“You and Chad?” Thorn crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re smarter than that.”

“You’re right. I know who you are,” Evie grinned.

“Sure about that, Princess?” She nodded towards the tourney field. Evie would be the one to figure it all out. But she was sure that the girl only had it half right. 

Evie looked behind her at the tourney field where the cheerleaders were practicing. The girl frowned, but didn’t give off any sign of doubt or confusion. Thorn had to give her credit. The girl was good. She almost had it.

“I could just ask my Magic Mirror,” Evie smirked.

“I know you won’t,” she chuckled. “You would have already asked it.”

“Fine,” Evie pouted. “That would take all the fun out of it. I know you’re a royal. You know the proper etiquette and formalities. And you’re athletic. You have quite the body under that armor.” The girl waved at the squad of cheerleaders. “And I’m sure I know how to explain that too.”

“Probably,” she conceded. “But call me Thorn, for now.” 

“Seriously?” Evie scrunched her face up in disbelief. “Well, Thorn, I just can’t figure out why you helped us at the museum.”

“If you got caught,” she shrugged. “You’d be sent back to the Isle. Back to Maleficent. You’re all better off here.”

If Evie noticed how she angrily growled out the Mistress of Evil’s name, she didn’t mention it. “So you’ll help us steal the wand?” 

“No,” she said firmly. “I won’t grab it for you if that’s what you’re hoping.”

“Hmm, I guess that was too much to ask for,” Evie sighed. “So what are you doing then?”

“I’m here to change things,” she answered as honestly as she could. 

“That’s what I was worried about,” Evie grimaced. 

“I’m going to make sure it doesn’t happen,” she moved to pat Evie on the shoulder, before she remembered she and this Evie weren’t close. She pulled her hand back. She had almost done the same thing with Mal back in the girls’ restroom. She waved her hand back and forth between them. “Don’t tell Mal about this conversation.”

“I won’t. For now. But if you hurt us. If you hurt Mal, I will do everything in my power to destroy you,” Evie lowered her voice and jabbed her finger in Thorn’s face.

“I don’t doubt it,” Thorn shook her head.

Evie was such a force. Thorn had seen firsthand the destruction Evie could wield when dealing with the hurt of some she loved. Thorn wanted to save her from that depth of pain and grief.

She wanted to save all of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! I'd love to hear from you.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal talks to Jane and she meets Lonnie. Mal schemes. Again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more like a character study/filler chapter getting Mal's thoughts on things. And things she doesn't know she's thinking.

After talking to Jane, Mal met up with Evie back up in their dorm room. She quickly explained her plan with Jane. Evie said it was a good plan, but her actions said otherwise. 

Evie scrunched her face up as she started working on some clothes at her sewing table. Mal couldn’t tell what if it was a long shirt or a short dress. It probably was a dress though. 

“What?” Mal scowled in Evie’s direction. “Say what’s on your mind then.”

“I’m just not so sure about it. Maybe we should have another plan in case this one doesn’t go the way you want it to,” Evie said gently, as if Mal would be mad at her for questioning her plan.

“What would you suggest then, oh wise one!” Mal rolled her eyes.

“The Masked Stranger-”

“Thorn,” Mal corrected Evie.

“What?” Evie raised an eyebrow.

“The Masked Stranger said to call her Thorn,” Mal shrugged. 

“Seriously?” Evie made a face of disbelief. “Nevermind. I think Thorn wants to help us. She could have some good ideas.”

“I don’t have a way of contacting her. She just showed up. I talked to her though,” Mal bit her lip. 

“You did? When?” The corners of Evie’s mouth quirked up.

“She was there when I was tricking Jane.” Mal cringed at remembering how Thorn had been present. It wasn’t her best work, but Jane had bought it so that’s all that mattered. “I didn’t know at the time. But after Jane left, Thorn came out of the stall she had been hiding in?”

“What is it with her and bathrooms?” Evie giggled.

“That’s what I said. But she,” Mal frowned. Thorn had sounded so disappointed. “She didn’t like that I was using Jane’s insecurities to get at the wand.”

“Hmm. Interesting that she would care.” Evie paused in her work, looking thoughtful.

“That’s what I asked her. Why she cared.” Mal paced the room.

“And?” Evie drew the word out, prompting her to continue.

“She gave me some crap about wanting me to do what I wanted.” Mal shook her head, as if it would rid the doubt from her mind. “Choose my own path.”

Those words seemed to make Evie scoff. “I mean you kinda already do what you want.” 

“I do. I definitely do,” Mal said proudly. “But she said that everything we were doing was to make our parents respect us.”

“Is she wrong?” Evie’s question was so loaded.

Mal couldn’t answer right away. But she had to. She was supposed to have all the answers. She was the leader of her gang.

The truth was Thorn was right. And Mal hated that.

“She-”

There was a timid knock on the door. 

Mal was saved from facing any kind of truth at the moment. She had to get ready to spin some lies and falsehoods.

“That must be Jane.” Mal grinned widely. She grabbed her sketchbook and got on her bed. She didn’t want to look like she had been waiting for Jane to arrive. She nodded at Evie, who sighed and got out of her seat.

Evie opened the door to let the younger girl in. “Hi, Jane. Welcome! Love the hair! If you need any help with clothes or makeup, I’m your girl.”

“Um, thanks. Mal did my hair.” Jane played with a strand between her fingers. 

Evie led Jane into the room and then went back to her sewing table. 

“So what did your mom say?” Mal tried to sound disinterested, but she really needed an answer.

“Mom said, “If a boy can’t see the beauty within, then he’s not worth it.” Jane leaned against the bedpost, like it was the only thing in her life supporting her as she complained. “Can you believe it? What world is she living in?”

“Auradon.” Mal scoffed as she continued to work on her sketch. It was another one of Thorn in her armor. She was amused as she realized that Thorn had thorns on her armor. 

“Mal, do you like?” Evie held up her own work for Mal to see. 

“Yeah, it’s cute. It brings out your eyes.” 

That sounded like something to say. She didn’t really know if the dress brought out Evie’s eyes. It was just that the eyes were just one of the first features Mal noticed. Their eyes told her a lot about a person. Evie’s brown eyes were always full of cheer and glee. Mal liked that about her. Jane always hid hers because she avoided eye contact. And Audrey’s? The princess’s eyes always held a challenge but something else. 

She hated that she couldn’t see Thorn’s eyes. They had only crossed paths twice so far but she was sure that everything to know about the woman in the mask would be revealed once she could look into her eyes.

“I know,” Evie happily agreed. Mal just hummed along.

“I’ll never get a boyfriend,” Jane despaired.

“Boyfriends are overrated.” Mal dismissed Jane’s worry. She added more shading under the hood. 

“How would you know, Mal?” Evie challenged, raising an eyebrow. “You’ve never had one.”

“It’s ‘cause I don’t need one, E.” Mal huffed, a little hurt. She didn’t need a boy to complete her.

“A girlfriend then?” Evie smirked. “You haven’t had one of those either.”

Jane let out a squeak, her eyes going wide.

“Oh, come on. Is Auradon homophobic too?” Mal spat out.

“No. Some of the older royals are, but most people aren’t? I just don’t think I could get a girlfriend either.” Jane slumped over on Evie’s bed. “I can’t even get people to be my friend.” 

Mal shared a look with Evie. It made her think of what Thorn said in the bathroom. The woman in the mask seemed to care about Jane. “Hey, that’s not true. Someone out there cares about you.”

“What Mal is trying to say is that-” 

Evie was not about to offer friendship to this girl. If she couldn’t get them the wand then she wasn’t of any use to them.

“What I’m trying to say is boyfriends are a waste of time.” Mal said with authority and finality, trying to end the discussion. 

“Oh no. Oh no, no, no!” Evie panicked. She leapt to her feet to grab a backpack. “I forgot to do Chad’s homework.”

“And that is exactly what I mean!” Mal pointed at the other girl with her pencil.

There was a knock at the open door. Though the girl that had knocked just waltzed right in without waiting for permission. That was bold of her. Mal liked that. 

“Hey, guys. I’m Lonnie. My mom’s Mulan?” The girl paused, waiting for a response now when she hadn’t done so at the door. 

Mal knew who Mulan was. Probably one of the more interesting heroes. Women weren’t allowed in combat units back then, but Mulan went ahead and broke that rule. But still she wouldn’t give Lonnie the satisfaction. 

“No? Anyways,” Lonnie continued. “I love what you’ve done with Jane’s hair. And I know you hate us, and, well, you’re evil.” 

Mal smirked. The girl said it like a compliment. Lonnie was buttering her up to get something she wanted. Mal respected that. 

“But do you think you can do mine?” Lonnie finally asked.

There it was.

“Why would I do that for you?” Mal narrowed her eyes. What was in it for her?

“I’ll pay you 50 dollars,” Lonnie held out a small purse that jangled with coins inside.

Evie snatched the bag out of Lonnie’s hands. “Good answer. I need to buy more material. Let's see, I'm thinking, we lose the bangs, maybe some layers and some highlights.” She led Lonnie over to a full length mirror in the room.

“Yeah, yeah,” Lonnie stopped Evie from going on. “I want it cool. Like Mal's.”

“Really?” Mal scrunched her face up.

“The split ends too?” Evie got a dig in at Mal’s expense, but it was just gentle teasing.

Mal glared at Evie, who just kept grinning in amusement. She groaned and got off her bed to get her spellbook. “Okay. Beware, forswear, replace the old with… cool hair.”

Lonnie’s hair went from severe, helmut hair to long, warm waves. Mal thought it looked better. No, she knew it looked better. She had to wonder who was giving these girls such tragic hair styles. Which Audrey had managed to avoid. Audrey had such nice hair. 

“I know. I know,” Evie soothed as she led Lonnie to the full length mirror in their room. “It looks like something died on your head. You know what we can do? Cut it off. Layer it!”

“Whoa! No! I love it!” Lonnie grinned widely.

“You do?” Evie made that face again. Like she was questioning someone’s judgement.

“It’s just.” Lonnie studied herself in the mirror. She ripped a slit in her skirt. “Now I’m cool.”

“Hell yeah.” Mal smirked, looking Lonnie up and down. 

Lonnie, couldn’t be Thorn could she?

The girl was fit. There was no doubt that Lonnie could easily lift her up, climb into windows, or cling to bathroom ceilings. She carried herself with confidence. That was obvious since she had been the one to approach them, when only Ben had done so. Of course, it was because she wanted something from them. But damn if that wasn’t how the world worked. She actually found herself liking Lonnie. She wouldn’t mind spending time with the girl again. She had something to offer.

Jane joined them by the mirror. She ripped a slit in her dress. “What did I just do? My mom’s going to kill me.”

Lonnie thanked them profusely. Then she dragged Jane off to do something Mal didn’t pay any attention to. She had more important things to do.

It was some time later when Jay burst into their dorm room. He showed off his tourney jersey proudly, throwing out different flexes and poses. He looked happy to finally have recognition of his skills from someone. He had never gotten that from anyone outside their gang back on the Isle. 

Carlos, sitting with his back against the foot of Mal’s bed, looked up from his laptop to whistle at Jay. 

Evie fanned herself with her hand to playfully swoon. “Oh, Jay!”

“You know girls, it’s not too late to join the cheer squad. Saw your best friend by the way.” Jay leaned against the post of Mal’s bed with a smirk on his face. 

“Ugh.” Mal threw a pillow at him hard. She so didn’t need to be thinking about Audrey right now.

He easily caught the pillow. “Take it your plan with Jane didn’t work.” 

“Yep. She’s been going through her spell book since she struck out,” Evie draped her arm over her desk chair, distracted from homework. 

“Don’t even say I told you so,” Mal huffed at her.

“I mean I don’t have to,” Evie pointed her pencil at Mal. 

“My mom is counting on me.” Mal thought of Thorn saying she didn’t have to do anything for her mother. What did she know! “I can’t let her down.”

“We can do this if we stick together,” Jay clenched his fist like he was about to give some rousing speech. 

“And with some help from Mal’s black knight?” Carlos interrupted him.

“Evie!” Mal hissed at the other girl. 

“That shouldn’t have been a secret.” Evie shook her head. 

Of course, the other girl had told the boys. They had a right to know, since there was someone out there that could blow their cover. It concerned all of them. Mal didn’t want to admit it, but she was a little bit worried that the more people knew about Thorn meant that the woman in the mask would leave. 

“You think we can trust this person?” Jay asked Mal. 

“Who trusts like that?” Mal scoffed. Though she felt like she could trust Thorn. “I mean she helped us out at the museum and with Audrey. Thorn could have ratted us out, but she hasn’t yet.”

Carlos looked at Evie, his face scrunched up. “Thorn?”

“Right?” Evie scrunched her face up as well.

Jay ignored them. “Maybe she hasn’t ratted us out, because she’s going to blackmail us.”

“Yeah? And what do we have to offer?,” Mal defended Thorn. “It’s not like that. You didn’t see her in the bathroom after I tricked Jane. She was worried. Not even I could fake that.”

Jay opened his mouth to say something. But Evie silenced him with a look. 

“That reminds me. I found out that Fairy Godmother blesses Ben with the wand at coronation and we all get to go,” Evie paused, looking thoughtful. “I have nothing to wear of course.”

There was a knock at the door. There was so much knocking in Auradon. People didn’t just barge in rudely. 

Mal held a finger up. “Hold that thought.” 

Since Evie was closest, she opened the door. Ben was standing on the other side.

“Hey, Evie.” Ben’s face brightened up. He looked behind her at the rest of the gang. “Uh, everyone. I didn’t see you guys today. I was just wondering if you… Any of you, had any questions or anything that you uh… needed?”

“Not me. But I’ll be sure to come find you if I need anything.” Evie smiled as she leaned towards Ben.

“Yeah? Please do.” Ben’s focus was all on Evie. 

“I mean we’re here too,” Mal rolled her eyes and scoffed. 

“Well, do you guys have any questions or anything you want from Ben?” Evie raised an eyebrow, as if to silently say “ _Don’t ruin this for me!_ ” 

Jay opened his mouth, no doubt to say something sarcastic but a glare from Mal made him shut it. She turned back to Ben. “I have one. Is it true that we all get to go to your coronation?”

“Yeah. The whole school goes.” Ben seemed excited that the Villain Kids were taking an interest in Auradon. 

“Wow. That is beyond exciting.” Mal slowly pushed Evie out of the way with her hip. “Do you think that the four of us could possibly stand up front, right next to Fairy Godmother, so we could just soak up all that extra goodness?”

From the corner of her eye, she could see Carlos roll his eyes and Jay mouth “ _Dial it down!_ ”

“I wish you could! Up front it’s just going to be me, my parents and my girlfriend.” Ben glanced over at Evie.

“So Audrey?” Mal said the name of Ben’s girlfriend.

Geez, could Ben be anymore obvious that he was only with Audrey out of duty? Boyfriends really were a waste of time. 

“Yeah. My girlfriend, Audrey.” Ben rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Okay, thanks. Bye!” Mal all but shoved Ben out the door and shut it behind him. 

“Mal!” Evie chastised. “Wow. Are you trying to make people suspicious?”

“You just wanted to talk to Ben more.” Mal waved off the pouting girl. “I think it’s time that Bennyboo got himself a new girlfriend. I need a love spell.”

That’s when a paper airplane flew into the room and hit Jay in the eye.

“Ah. You fucker!” Jay touched his eye. “Fucking hell.”

“Nice one!” Carlos laughed.

“Who the fuck threw that?” Jay asked, looking around the room. 

“It had to come in from the window.” Carlos pointed his thumb towards the open window.

“Okay, but how?” Jay grimaced.

“I don’t know. Magic?” Evie smirked. 

Carlos picked up the paper plane. “It’s a note.”

“Who’s it from?” Jay asked Carlos.

“Is this ask questions with obvious answers hour?” Mal chided him.

“Pick Evie,” Carlos read the note out loud.

“For-”

“Now you’re doing it just to piss me off.” Mal griped as Jay grinned. She turned towards Evie. “How about it, E? Want to be the new girlfriend? I’m sure you were about to volunteer.”

“I don’t know.” Evie bit her lip.

“You’d be perfect. Better than Mal.” Jay clapped his hand on the blue haired girl’s shoulder.

“Thanks,” Mal’s voice dripped with sarcasm. 

“No really,” Jay scoffed. “Would you honestly be comfortable playing princess? Curtseying and pinkie up at tea time?”

“When you put it like that,” Mal had to agree Jay had a point.

“A love spell isn’t exactly romantic,” Evie argued softly.

“I know if we had time you could get Ben to fall in love with you naturally. You could do it without a love spell, that's how great you are. But this is just speeding things up.” Mal threw her arm around Evie’s shoulder.

“You’ll be an important part of the plan.” Carlos got in close.

“Okay.” Evie finally gave in and agreed.

That took care of that. One less thing to worry about for now. But Mal must still have been frowning.

“What’s wrong?” Evie asked, filled with concern.

“It’s just… Why didn’t Thorn come herself? Why the note?” Mal admitted to what was on her mind.

Evie shared a look with Carlos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So they're going to use Evie instead of Mal.
> 
> Yes. Mal thinks about Audrey and Thorn. And what about it?
> 
> Let me know what you think! I love hearing from you all.
> 
> Take care, guys!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Villain Kids bake. Thorn thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone that's been reading and leaving kudos!
> 
> The second part of this chapter, I was listening to "Waiting" by Alice Bowman. Great song.

Finding the perfect spell brought them to the communal kitchen in the dorms. Only Evie was comfortable in a kitchen. The Isle princess pulled out the bowls and measuring cups, going on about recipes she had made. It sounded like lies to Mal, that Evie was bragging about making omelets and pies from scratch. Where would she have gotten the ingredients on the Isle? Where nothing ever grew and all they got were scraps and rotting garbage? Carlos, who was uncomfortable around the kitchen, but had cooked his mother’s meals, nodded along with Evie’s words. Mal couldn’t call them out. She needed them. Not to mention she’d be admitting her lack of skill in any area, something she absolutely loathed to do.

But how hard could it be?

Mal read through the spell book again. They were mixing all the ingredients. The flour, eggs and all that stuff had been easy enough to find. The hard part was next. “It says we need a human tear. And I don’t cry.”

“Let's just chop up some onions.” Carlos stopped scratching Dude on the head to grab an onion from the crate of them right next to him. 

“No. It says that we need one tear of human sadness.” Mal set the whisk down, frustration slipping into her voice. She tapped her finger on the page of the spellbook firmly. “And this love potion gets the best results so we have to follow it exactly.”

“A tear's a tear.” Jay waved his hand around, not understanding how much they needed to get this right. 

“That's not true, Jay,” Evie drawled as she grabbed the flour to give to Mal. “They both have antibodies and enzymes, but an emotional tear has more protein-based hormones than a reflex tear.”

“Listen to you,” Mal said, actually impressed. 

She knew Evie was practically a genius. The cooking and cleaning and sewing was all so the girl could get a prince. But the sciences, the kind with elements and numbers that Mal hated to think about because it made her head hurt and her eyes glaze over, were where Evie shined. The girl dumbed herself down because of the Evil Queen. Mal had often overheard Carlos and Evie discuss his technology back on the Isle. There was a good exchange of ideas there. And of course, Evie had gone on and on about chemistry in between their scheming now that they were in Auradon. Chemistry was almost like potion making. And making poisons. Evie was good at both.

“Yeah, I knew that,” Jay said slowly.

“I do not buy that for one second,” Carlos teased, reaching over Dude’s head to smack Jay in the arm. 

“I did!” Jay reached over Dude’s head and poked the other boy. 

The fact that the two weren’t wrestling on the floor of the kitchen was a surprise. It was a nice change of pace. Maybe Fairy Godmother was right to put the boys in Tourney. Ugh. Mal would never admit that out loud since Fairy Godmother had been wrong about everything else. 

The door to the kitchen suddenly opened up. Lonnie slipped in. Mal quickly covered the spellbook with a dish towel. 

“There you are, Mal! I was looking for you. You know, all the girls want you to do their hair!” Lonnie pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. Then she noticed the mixing bowl on the counter. “Midnight snack, huh? What are you guys making?”

“Nothing special. Just cookies,” Mal shrugged. The cookies really were nothing special until they added the tear of human sadness. Still, she was really proud of herself for the work they had done so far.

Until, Lonnie reached over and dipped her finger into the mixing bowl. She popped the dollop of cookie dough into her mouth. This chick really just went ahead and did whatever she wanted.

Mal’s cries blended in with everyone’s else. But they were too late to stop her. Were they worried for Lonnie’s safety or worried they would get caught? Mal had no idea what was about to happen next. For all she knew, Lonnie could fall over dead. 

Hiding a body was really going to complicate things.

“What?” Lonnie had been weirded out by their outbursts. “Is there poison in this or something?”

“No!” Mal said a little too quickly. She groaned internally. The others had been on her ass about how obvious she was being sometimes. 

Lonnie started laughing. “I’m just messing with you.”

“You really had us going there,” Jay laughed slowly. 

“Sorry! It must be a sensitive topic for you guys,” Lonnie cringed, looking at Evie. 

“It’s fine. Feel anything?” Evie studied Lonnie, voice full of concern.

“Yeah, like maybe it might be missing something?” Mal corrected. Who was being obvious now?

Jay hopped off the kitchen counter he was sitting on and strode over to Lonnie. “Hey, there.”

Jay winked at Lonnie as he got close to her. Lonnie just stared him down completely unimpressed. She put her hand on his chest and gave him a little push back. “Down, Tiger.”

Lonnie brushed past Jay and went to the fridge. “It could use some chips.” 

“Chips?” Jay laughed as he leaned against the kitchen counter closest to her. But he was still a respectable distance away. 

“And those are?” Mal was starting to get annoyed. She watched Jay watching Lonnie with interest. 

Another one of her gang into someone from Auradon. They needed to get the wand quick.

“Chocolate chips. Just the most important food group.” Lonnie shut the fridge. She had a bowl of the chips in her hand and set it down next to the mixing bowl. She took a handful and poured it into the bowl. “Wait, didn't your moms ever make you guys, like, chocolate chip cookies? Like, when you're feeling sad, and they're fresh from the oven, with a big old glass of milk, and she just makes you laugh and puts everything into perspective and... why are you all looking at me like that?”

It was true. They had been staring at Lonnie in confusion. Maleficent had never given her words of encouragement. Only threats and promises of pain. The Evil Queen would hardly ever give Evie food, let alone sweets. Not to mention the backhanded comments that sometimes came with an actual backhand. Cruella DeVille? The name kind of gave it away. Carlos couldn’t wait to get away from his mother. And Jay didn’t even have a mother. Just a horrible father that never appreciated him and showed that physically. 

Lonnie could figure it out from their faces.

Still, Mal said, “It’s just different where we’re from.”

“Wow. I just, you know, I stupidly thought... Even villains love their kids.” Lonnie let out an uncomfortable laugh. But no one joined her or rushed to confirm her belief. “Wishful thinking then. Just so we could go on with our lives. While you all… all of you suffered.”

A tear slipped down Lonnie’s cheek. Mal stepped forward and gently wiped it off. They had what they needed.

“It’ll be okay. We’re in Auradon now,” Evie soothed the other girl and led her to the kitchen door. With her free hand, she motioned for Mal to get started on the cookies. “Don’t worry about us.”

“If you guys ever need to talk or spar, I’m here for you.” Lonnie’s gaze lingered on Jay longer than the rest of them. “Whatever you need. Good night, guys.”

“Good night, Lonnie.” Jay waved at her. She actually smiled at him.

Once they had the kitchen to themselves, Evie let out a sigh of relief. “And that’s how you get rid of someone so they don’t get suspicious. I wasn’t going to let you push someone else out the door.”

“Whatever. They’d probably just think we’re feral losers that don’t know how to deal with emotions and social situations.” Mal waved it off

“Mal, we are feral losers that don’t know how to deal with emotions and social situations. So they don’t think that, they know that,” Carlos pointed out.

“See, then they won’t think we’re acting weird because we are weird. Boys, baking trays. Evie, the oven.” Mal gave them their orders.

“I don’t like them feeling sorry for us,” Jay frowned as he got to work.

“Hey, it’s just something else we can use. If they feel sorry for us, then they aren’t suspicious. We’re one step closer to the wand,” Mal punched her fist in the air.

“Drink!” The three shouted playfully.

“Shut up!” Mal glared at them. 

“No but really. If we were actually playing a drinking game with that as a rule, we’d probably need a new liver.” Jay grabbed a handful of the chocolate chips. He popped a few in his mouth before offering some to Carlos. The other boy ended up taking most of them. Jay shrugged before tossing the rest in his mouth. “Lonnie was right about the chips.”

“Don’t think we didn’t notice you swing and miss with her,” Carlos teased.

“Naw. She’s interested. ‘Else she wouldn’t have offered to spar.” Jay waggled his eyebrows.

“Sure,” Mal laughed. “I think she actually wants to fight you.”

“She wants me.” Jay smirked, very confident. 

“Keep telling yourself that, _Tiger_ ,” Evie purred.

“Guys!” Mal snapped her fingers twice to get their attention. “Focus!”

***

Waiting. That’s all she could do. 

Thorn had been alone for a long time. But being around everyone again? After losing them? It was so hard. It was taking everything in her power to not fall at their feet, on her knees, to beg for their forgiveness. 

For tonight, she had set up camp in one of the storage rooms on campus. She was sitting on hard cement floor, but she'd be sleeping in bursts anyway. She’d be gone before daylight so she wouldn’t get caught. There were wards set up to warn her if anyone was coming near. Surviving was more important than getting comfortable. Staying in one place wasn’t safe. She’d go to the woods again tomorrow night. 

Her hours outside the plan were spent training or going over the notes scribbled in the old sketchbook. 

The sketchbook.

Aside from the armor, it was the only other thing Thorn brought with her on her one way trip back. Everything else she had to “borrow” from around the campus. Ben wouldn’t get mad if reports of missing camping gear got back to him. He’d take care of it. He certainly wouldn’t notice a few of his simple shirts missing. Just like a boy to write that sort of thing off. 

But Audrey would notice something like that and blame the Villain Kids, so no borrowing the girl’s clothes for a closer fit. Years of hard living meant that they probably wouldn’t be exactly the same size, but Thorn also didn’t think she and Audrey shared the same style. The princess was more about dressing to be noticed and Thorn dressed for stealth. Not to mention her clothes were more about what she could scrounge up while on the run from horde soldiers and bounty hunters. It was nice to get out of her armor for a few minutes. 

Thorn took a bite out of one of the leftover meat pies she had pilfered from the communal kitchen. She let out a moan at how good it was, even if it was so simple. She tried not to scarf the whole thing down in two bites, but still finished the meat pie off quickly. She had been existing on scraps and anything she could get her hands on. Fuck. She couldn’t imagine growing up like that, but that’s what the Villain Kids had to do to survive. Freeing the Children of the Isle was also part of the plan. Hungry teens making midnight snacks would be blamed for the food she took. It wasn’t a lot. Just what was easiest to carry in her also borrowed knapsack: a couple of apples and granola bars, a whole loaf of bread (that got squished by her other supplies but she wasn’t going to complain), and a jar of peanut butter. 

When she was done eating, Thorn looked at the sketchbook. The sketchbook listed what had happened in the days up to Coronation the first time through, what she hadn’t been present for and what the Villain Kids had done. They had tried to steal the wand from the museum their first night. Jane was manipulated into going for the wand with a makeover. Ben was spelled to be in love with Mal.

She went over what had happened so far when the Villain Kids had arrived in Auradon in her head. Things had already changed. Something had made Audrey call the museum that first night prompting more guards to arrive and almost catch the Villain Kids. The princess had even gone to the girls’ dorm room to confront them. Then Mal and Evie had tried out for cheerleading. While that hadn’t happened the first time, she didn’t think it was enough. So she told the Villain Kids to use Evie to be the object of the love spell for Ben instead of Mal. 

The sketchbook had started out as just that. It had been a gift, something thoughtful and shared. Then it became everything. The sketchbook became a diary and a confidant. It listed what she needed to do.

And it was also a memorial.

Pages were filled with portraits of the fallen. 

There was one sketch she always went back to and always lingered on. 

The drawing had been done in happier times. (As happy as one could be while living as a wanted outlaw trying to stay one step ahead of the enemies out for their heads.) She missed the other woman terribly, with the eyes full of mischief and that playful smirk captured only in the sketches and her memory.

“I miss you so much, Jean.” Thorn traced her finger on the white space of the sketch. She took out the pair of rings on a chain she wore around her neck and clutched them tightly. “I don’t know what to do. Didn’t think I’d see you again. But she’s not you. And she won’t be if I can help it.”

The dead in her sketchbook were all alive and so close, just outside her hiding spot.

She was the ghost now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think, dear readers!
> 
> If you think you know who Thorn really is, I'd love to hear it. If you have questions or anything at all, feedback would be welcome.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrey voices some concerns. The love spell is sprung with some undesired consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We love character studies so we just study characters all the time here!

Audrey wasn’t a happy princess. 

Mal and her gang were up to something. She had even called the museum the first night they were in Auradon. She had seen some shadowy figure sneaking around that night, so she of course had to warn the museum’s security guards. She wouldn’t let any harm come to one of her favorite locations in Auradon. But they had somehow gotten away with it. 

Then there was that cheerleading try-out of Mal’s. She had to admit that the girl was good. If either of the girls from the Isle of the Lost wanted to be on the team, she would have to let them join. In the spirit of fairness. But fortunately, they wanted nothing to do with cheerleading. Unfortunately, the whole thing had just been a trick to get back at Audrey.

There was no way that Audrey would let Mal or Evie or anyone get hurt on her watch. The blame would come down on her head as captain. But Mal had gone and fallen during a stunt that the girl herself had demanded to do. 

Audrey was experienced. When she was much younger, her busy parents had put her in every activity she wanted to try. But once she got to Auradon Prep, she had to quit most to make room for her social duties. Cheer and gymnastics were the exceptions. (She missed fencing but her grandmother was right that it wasn’t a proper pastime for a young princess to engage in.) Funnily enough, cheer was the more dangerous sport. She would never say it outloud, but she liked having the strength to lift the other girls in the air, protecting them. They didn’t just train on the field doing routines, they had weight sessions in the gym. Audrey was proud of her personal best on the front squat. 

So when Mal had fallen, Audrey had caught her easily. But even without the strength training, she could have carried Mal. The girl was light. Like a worrisome amount. (She had brought it up with Ben afterwards. Not that she cared. Proper nutrition was important for everyone!)

Audrey had caught Mal. No one got hurt. 

Not that it mattered. The other girls had gotten mad at her. Mal had planned that!

The girl was devious. Just like her awful mother!

Now there was the situation with the hair. 

Mal was obviously spelling girls’ hair. For a price! Didn’t these girls know they were making a deal with the devil?

Lonnie of all people had gotten her hair spelled to look shiny and wavy, just like Audrey’s. Last school year, the girl had lost a bet to her older brother so she had gotten it cut short and had since then been growing it out. But the pixie cut had suited her. Audrey had been jealous of Lonnie being able to pull the very short hair off. She never told her friend it suited her though. (Audrey kept her hair a more traditional, appropriate style like her grandmother suggested: Straightened and relaxed to manage her curls.) Of course, Lonnie had told her she wanted to get to know the Villain Kids better so when Jane got her hair spelled, she had used it as an in.

Which had given Audrey an idea. She couldn’t spy on the Villain Kids herself. She had blown that lead when the four had first shown up. Evie had smiled at her boyfriend, so she had said something about her not having any status here. She knew it was a horrible thing to say when the girl’s face had fallen and Ben had stiffened beside her. But royals didn’t apologize. 

Royals also delegated duties to other people. Which was what her idea was. Since the Villain Kids were suspicious of her, she would get Lonnie to spy on them for her. Of course, she had just told her friend to keep an eye out for them. The Villain Kids were after all, far from home and out of place. They would need a friendly face out of all their peers. 

It worked too.

Since Lonnie had come to her before curfew last night, and told her about coming across the four in the kitchen. 

Lonnie had been distraught. But still, she had told Audrey everything, blow by blow. Mal and Evie had been baking cookies. The boys had watched, which was just typical. Dude the dog had been there there for some reason. At first, Audrey had been worried for the dog, but Lonnie had assured her Dude had been calm and relaxed next to Carlos. Audrey had almost shrieked when Lonnie admitted she had a taste of something the Evil Queen’s daughter had a hand in making. But she was practiced at hiding her expressions when she wanted to. Lonnie then explained that she had added chocolate chips to their mix and had tried to relate to them by sharing what she thought was a universal experience: a mother making comfort food to cheer their child up when they were sad. Audrey didn’t tell Lonnie that her family hadn’t done that for her in forever. (Her parents had grown more and more busy, her grandmother told her to never cry where anyone could see her. She had stopped going to her grandmother for comfort and consoling after that harsh lesson.) 

If she had brought her own experience up, Audrey was sure that Lonnie would cry. Her friend had let slip the fact that she had shed a tear at the thought of children growing up unloved. Audrey had believed her too since the other girl’s eyes were already watery. But then Lonnie had added that Mal had been really sweet and wiped the tear off. 

Audrey had thought that was suspect.

The kids from the Isle were practically feral. Only Evie really seemed to have some idea how to act in polite society. So Mal wiping Lonnie’s tear from her face, didn’t make a lick of sense. 

The tear was important.

She knew they were up to something. She could prove it.

Audrey had a plan and everything.

She could feel Mal’s eyes on them, a few lockers away from her and Ben. So the girl was doing some spying of her own. 

“Look! It's Mal!” A girl from her Kingdom Relations class shouted from the tables in the quad.

The girl was obviously being loud to get everyone’s attention on her and her spelled hair. It was working. Everyone was looking at Ruby. At least, Ruby had an excuse for getting her hair spelled. The poor girl had been a victim of a prank involving her hair getting stuck to a lunch table. It had to be cut off to free her.

“Hi, Mal! Love my hair, Mal!” another girl cheered. Daphne didn’t have that excuse.

Audrey was trying to listen in on the conversation Mal and Jay were having. But Ben was talking about something and she couldn’t hear them. 

“It's not so bad here, you know.”

Audrey caught the end of what Jay had said. Maybe Ben’s plan was working. Jay had made it on the tourney team. While he was more intense than the other players, she was glad he was on their team. They were sure to win today.

Mal poked her finger into Jay’s chest. The boy nodded quickly and seemed to agree with whatever Mal had said.

The other three had promise. Evie would fit right in with the rest of the cheer squad and she knew a lot about fashion. Audrey suspected that she was making all of their clothes, which weren’t completely horrible to look at. Carlos was a little harder for her to figure out. But he could find a place in Auradon.

If only Mal wasn’t such a bad influence. She watched Jay flirt with the group of giggling girls. She rubbed her wrist.

Audrey asked Ben, “Do you think they actually paid for those?” 

“Oh, hello. The name's Jay. You all going to the tourney game tonight?” Jay was such a flirt. 

That was a bit of a problem. She figured Lonnie had been interested in him since she had offered to spar with him. She didn’t want her friend getting hurt, even if Lonnie could take care of herself.

“She did it for Lonnie. And she did it to Jane's hair, too. Fairy Godmother's not happy about it.” Audrey glared at the scene. 

“What's the harm?” Ben shrugged.

“It's gateway magic! Sure, it starts with the hair. Next thing you know it's the lips and the legs and the clothes and then everybody looks good and then... where will I be?” Audrey bit her lip.

It's not like she had anything else to offer. She had worked so hard to be Ben’s girlfriend. To be Aurora’s daughter. (Who was blessed by fairy magic with beauty.) To look pretty. (Ben said she was pretty. Never more than pretty. Never beautiful.) To be the future Queen. (Like her mother. Like her grandmother. Like everyone in her family before her.) What would she be without that? Who else could she be?

She took a deep breath. Her wrist ached. She rubbed it. It still felt sore.

“Did you hurt your wrist?” Ben asked, concerned.

“It’s fine.” She made sure the sleeve of her cardigan was still covering her up. ”I will see you at the game after my dress-fitting for the coronation, okay?”

“Okay,” Ben answered.

“Bye, Bennyboo.” Audrey kissed his cheek. 

...

Mal watched Audrey head inside, leaving Ben alone. She thought the princess would never leave. She nodded at Evie to get started.

“Hi, Ben!” Evie gave him a small wave.

“Hey, Evie,” he greeted her. 

“I made you a batch of cookies to say thank you for everything you’ve done for us!” Evie held out a tin. It was so very Evie. She opened it. “Double chocolate chip. Let me know what you think. If you don’t like them, I can always try again.” 

“Oh, I, uh, I've got a big game. I don't eat before a big game. But thank you so, so much. Maybe after?” Ben’s cheeks pinked. 

“I mean I did want to watch your face when you took a bite.” Evie’s eyes widened suddenly. “Oh, wait. I think I understand. I mean my mom’s the Evil Queen. After what she did to Snow White, I wouldn’t take anything from me either.” She frowned and looked at the ground. 

“No, no, no.” Ben rushed out, looking stricken at Evie’s fallen expression.

“I’m so stupid. I was just really excited to try baking. I didn’t even know what chocolate chips were until last night.” Evie actually sounded hurt. Mal worried for her. Maybe she wasn’t up to this. That was why she was worried. The sour feeling in her gut or her heart drumming in her chest was for Evie. No other reason

“No, Evie. You’re not stupid. Don’t ever let anyone let you think that. I will have a cookie.” Ben took a cookie.

“I think I’ll have one, too.” Another hand reached into the cookie tin and took one out. 

“Audrey! Shouldn’t you be going to your dress-fitting?” Mal slipped up next to Evie.

The pink princess smiled. “I mean I was on my way. When I remembered that I had rescheduled for tomorrow. Thought I’d come back and spend time with my Benny-Boo here before we had to get ready for the game.”

“Oh, how sweet!” Evie smiled tightly.

“Thank you, Evie.” Audrey cocked her head to the side. “It was really thoughtful of you to make my boyfriend cookies.”

“He’s just so nice,” Evie added. 

“He is, isn’t he?” Audrey took Ben’s free hand in her own. 

They were screwed. Mal was trying to figure a way out of this. If she told Audrey not to eat the cookie, the girl would know something was up. If she smacked the cookie out of Audrey’s hand, then the princess would _definitely_ know something was up with the cookie. The authorities would test the cookies and find out about the love spell. They wouldn’t get another chance to do this. 

She had to let Audrey eat the cookie. 

The other problem would be that Ben had to be looking at Evie and not at Audrey. Audrey couldn’t be looking at Ben either. That would complicate things even more.

“See, Audrey. I told you Auradon was rubbing off on them.” Ben beamed at Audrey. 

“Of course.” Audrey smiled back at him. “And what kind of girlfriend and future queen would I be if I didn’t support you?” 

Audrey took a bite of the cookie before Ben did.

Mal shoved Evie into Ben. The prince caught her out of reflex. The tin of cookies fell on the ground. 

Audrey glared at Mal. “What is wrong with you!” 

“Um, thanks for catching me Ben.” Evie bit her lip as she looked up at Ben.

Ben still had Evie in his arms. He was staring down into her eyes. He swallowed. “No problem. Wouldn’t want you to fall. It’s funny though, because I’m the one that’s fallen for you.”

Mal groaned. That line was absolutely horrible. She had to admit it would be cute if the whole situation wasn’t messed up. 

The princess sighed. Mal turned to face her.

Audrey was just standing there, smiling at Mal. It was such a foreign look on her face. Mal had always been on the receiving end of dirty looks and death stares, which were just adorable to someone from the Isle. 

“Mal, Ben ate the cookie,” Jay leaned in.

“Evie, your eyes. I could just get lost in them.” Ben was doing exactly that. It was like no one else existed. 

“I figured,” Mal huffed. She turned back to their problem. “You okay there, Audrey?”

“Never better.” The princess was still smiling at Mal. “Ben?”

“Yeah?”

“I think we should see other people,” Audrey suggested. Mal almost gasped at her words.

“Yeah,” Ben replied dreamily.

“Mal,” Carlos whined. 

“It’s okay.” Mal hated that she didn’t come off as confident as she wanted to sound. “You guys just take Ben to the game.”

“How about it, bro?” Jay knocked Ben in the shoulder with his own. “You gonna win the game for your girl?”

“Yes!” Ben’s eyes widened happily. “I’m going to win the game for Evie! So the whole school will know how I feel about her! You’ll see, Evie.”

“Bye, Ben! I’ll be cheering for you in the stands!” Evie clasped her hands in front of her.

Ben blew her a kiss as he was dragged away by Jay and Carlos.

“And speaking of cheering, you should get ready too, Audrey,” Mal commanded. The spell meant the princess had to listen to her, right?

“I should.” Audrey didn’t move.

Mal blew out a breath of air in frustration. She wanted to pull her hair out. Or pull out Audrey’s pretty hair for making everything harder for them. Even under a spell, Audrey was annoying. 

“I’m a bit jealous of Ben and Evie,” Audrey sighed. 

“Why’s that?” Mal decided to humor her.

“He gets to win the game for Evie. And she gets to cheer for Ben. I can’t do the same for you yet. I’ll be looking for you in the stands though, Aubergine.” Audrey winked at her. “Until later.”

“Aubergine?” Mal asked Evie after the princess had gone. 

“Aww. French is so romantic,” Evie swooned. 

“What does it mean?” Mal raised a brow.

“Uh, it’s a purple berry?” Evie smiled gently.

“Somehow I don’t believe you.” Mal shook her head. “When did you have time to learn French?”

“It is the language of love. I can also speak Spanish, German and and Arabic.” Evie listed off the languages proudly. Mal was impressed but her expression must have been the opposite of that because Evie launched into an explanation. “What? I can’t limit myself. I need to be able to snag a prince in multiple languages. It was a lonely ten years.”

“Evie, I-”

“Don’t apologize, Mal.” Evie wrapped her arm around her. “You’re already forgiven. Your mother exiled us. Not you. And I know you have my back. Just like I have yours.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Kronk voice* Oh yeah. It's all coming together.
> 
> Did you know that eggplants fit the definition of berries according to botany? I guess. I don't know. Evie would know. Girl is smart.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thorn finds out that Ben isn't the only royal to be under the Villain Kids' Love Spell. Mal isn't too happy with the plan Thorn comes up with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that's read and reviews so far. I love reading everyone's theories on who Thorn is and what's going on.

“Thorn” was sitting up in the stands, blending in with the rest of the cheering crowd. She had gotten her hands on an Auradon Prep hoodie to wear over her armor and a ball cap. (Okay so she had “borrowed” them just like everything else she owned now.) And even though she could throw the hood up and pull the cap down to cover her face, she still went with face paint. Blue and gold. It did a decent job of covering up the scars. She even had on sunglasses that she had also stolen. 

It was a huge risk coming here. Even with the slight deflection spell she cast via the armor someone could recognize her if they looked closely. She didn’t want to use a bigger one and risk the armor’s charge. But luckily for her, everyone’s attention was on the game. Her old friends were sitting closer to the field and she was sitting further back. Her past self was also busy at the moment so there was no risk. 

A couple came along and sat to the front and left of her. They smiled politely at her. Although the girl’s gaze lingered on her a little bit. 

“Go Knights!” Thorn cheered.

The girl nodded at her and turned around when she heard the crowd cheer. 

She left out a relieved breath. She couldn’t help but be here. It was a key point before the coronation.

She had to see it for herself. How else would she know if her plan had worked?

She remembered it the first time around. Mal and her friends had made cookies laced with a love potion targeting Ben. He had fallen in love with Mal. 

And maybe she had given them a little nudge to do things differently this time. Maybe it would be big enough of a change to use Evie instead. 

She gave the smallest thought to the possibility that using Evie for the love spell for Ben could mean they wouldn’t end up together. But she stamped down on it. A love like those three had? It was one that reached across time. It had to be. 

And if she was wrong?

At least they would all be alive.

Soon they won the game. And the trophy! She knew they would. They had won it the first time around. 

She couldn’t help but cheer loudly, feeling a little bit of nostalgia. It had been awhile since she had experienced something so extremely low-stakes as a high school tourney game. Back when things were easier.

Ben made an announcement. He confessed his love for Evie. All the students in the stands cheered. Thorn tensed. 

It was okay, she reasoned with herself. Ben and Evie had been together during her time. It would be nice for two thirds of the triad to get together earlier. It would save them all from the mess that was Ben and Mal fumbling around each other. Now that she was back here, it was clear Ben had been interested in Evie from the start. Although if things changed enough, their third would still be stuck on the Isle of the Lost. She’d have to remedy that.

She sighed. She felt sorry for Audrey. She knew what it was like to be humiliated in front of the whole school. But she couldn’t see any way around it.

“Evie, will you go with me to coronation?” Ben was standing in front of Evie in the stands, surrounded by the whole school.

“Yes. Of course! Yes!” Evie answered happily.

Her eyes found Audrey as Ben gave Evie his tourney jersey. The princess hadn’t run off the field, completely heartbroken. She was still out there, cheering along with everyone else.

That was different.

She hadn’t heard any news about Ben and Audrey breaking up. Although, it’s not like she could just insert herself into a group of gossiping teens and ask for the latest. Being a shadowy figure put a damper on that. 

Audrey walked up to Ben and Evie. She gently took the mic from him.

“Ben and Evie, you have my blessing!” Audrey announced.

This got a few confused murmurs.

“Besides, I have my eye on someone else.”

The princess looked at the three uncoupled Villain Kids. Carlos and Jay were slapping Ben on the shoulders. Mas was... 

_Oh._

Mal looked flustered and about to bolt.

Oh _no._

This was not good.

Mal for her part didn't run off. Thorn had a feeling that would make this all worse. Although maybe it wouldn’t. Auradonians were too trusting. It was all so ridiculous. Because after living through this the first time it was obvious in hindsight that the Villain Kids had used a love potion on Ben. Sure, maybe that could be hand waved away, that Ben and Audrey’s breakup was a long time coming. It had been obvious to everyone but Audrey and Ben. 

Ben was ready for someone new and when that someone came along he readily jumped at the chance.

But to have another royal fall for a Villain Kid was suspect. Especially for it to be Princess Audrey Rose. One of the loudest voices protesting the presence of the Villains Kids. If Audrey was about to openly court the daughter of her family’s enemy then that was sure to raise some red flags.

The crowd surged into the field to celebrate their win, the new couple forgotten. Jay and Carlos went back to the team, dragging Ben with them. Lonnie and Evie were giggling together. 

The announcer had the mic back. “And there he is. Jay, the most valuable player. How do you like that?”

The crowd liked that very much. They hoisted Jay onto their shoulders as he lifted up the tourney trophy. Audrey went back to her squad to lead everyone in the Auradon Prep Fight Song.

She spotted Mal slipping away in all the excitement. 

She tossed the cap onto the bench beside her. She kept the hoodie on, over her armor. Audrey wouldn’t want either, as both had belonged to Ben. She threw up the hood of her armor, then dropped down under the bleachers. She slipped off the sunglasses and put them away in her pocket. She wiped off the face paint with the sleeve of the hoodie. Ugh. She hadn’t planned on speaking to Mal so soon. 

She pulled the mask on.

Soon she had caught up to Mal. 

“What did you do?” Thorn tried to keep her voice calm, as she pulled Mal behind the same storage shed she had spoken to Evie.

“Nothing! We-” Mal stopped. She stared at her. “What are you wearing?”

“A disguise.”

“Over your disguise?” Mal chuckled. 

“I had to go to the tourney game. Keep an eye out for you guys. A masked stranger in body armour tends to stand out and I’d rather not have the Royal Guards on my ass.” Her tone was exasperated and it got Mal defensive. 

“And what kind of trouble do you think could happen at a sportsball game in Auradon?” Mal crossed her arms. 

“Oh, I don't know!” Thorn threw her hands out since it seemed Mal didn’t understand the danger she was in. “Maybe not one, but two young royals getting poisoned with love potion? You’ll be lucky if they send you back to the Isle. An attack on a member of any royal family of Auradon, let alone _the_ future king and queen is punishable by death.”

“You’re the one that said to use Evie. That means you approved,” Mal huffed. 

“I didn’t mean drug Audrey too!” She found herself wagging her finger disappointedly and stopped herself from acting like Fairy Godmother. “You might as well throw a damn bake sale and get everyone to fall in love with you that way.” 

They both fell quiet at that suggestion. That was actually a good evil plan and she was glad the Four hadn’t thought of that. That’s all she needed; them mass producing the love potion and spiking everyone. Not to mention them going straight for Fairy Godmother that way with a laced cookie. She kept that last one to herself. 

The world was lucky she wasn’t a villain.

“Ugh,” Mal groaned. “Why didn’t I think of that! That’s actually a good-“

“Nope. You are not doing that.” She shook her head. 

“But-“

“Listen, we don’t have the time for that. And it would be even more suspicious if we didn’t get everyone under the spell in one go.” Thorn explained gently instead of outright saying no. Her mind ran quickly through the pros and cons of such a plan. The targets couldn’t just be teenaged nobles. Their parents would definitely notice them being lovesick for four teens from the Isle of the Lost. It would have to be the Heroes in charge themselves. And they’d all have to be in one spot. 

Not to mention, robbing people of their free will was vile. 

Abused children acting in desperation wouldn't exactly know better. But Thorn didn't have that excuse. 

She had done horrible things to triumph over Evil. This was just another horrible thing. Anything to end their battle. She had always done whatever it took to accomplish her goals, even when she had been growing up. But back then her goals had been so childish. Still, it meant she could plan ahead and adapt. It was how she was raised. The way must have sounded like foolish old kings trying to justify and rationalize their horrible things though. _Like allowing children to grow up on the Isle of the Lost to keep the rest of Auradon safe. Like going along with it and never giving them a second thought._

The difference was that she knew when she’d met Hades again, this time in his own kingdom, she wasn't going to Elysium. She was no hero. 

Thorn reminded herself why she had come back.

She refocused on Mal. The girl was standing there with an expression. One that anyone close to Mal would recognize as one of concern. Thorn shook off the familiarity. She needed to be here, in the now, knowing that her future was meant to be past. 

If she pulled this off.

“You’ll just stick with the Royal lovefools you’ve got,” Thorn sighed. “How’d that happen anyway?”

“We-Audrey was suspicious and grabbed a cookie to make sure we weren't poisoning Ben or something,” Mal actually looked like she felt bad about what happened.

“Which you kinda were,” Thorn pointed out.

“I was the first person she saw,” Mal explained slowly. 

“Well, damn. This is a mess.” Her hand went up to pinch the bridge of her nose. But she was wearing the mask. Her hand dropped to the side. “Audrey has been suspicious of you guys since before you even got here.”

“There's an antidote,” Mal offered.

“I know,” Thorn soothed, knowing Mal wasn’t going to like what she was about to suggest she do. “But she’ll remember and she won’t hesitate to turn you in.” 

“You're saying I have to go along with this?” Mal scoffed in disbelief.

“Yes. One less person watching your every move. In the meantime, I’ll handle this. I know Audrey so I can fix it.” She didn’t know how she was going to fix it. But she wasn’t going to admit that. 

Kidnapping Audrey was out because the blame would fall on the Villain Kids. Would Audrey actually believe her if she explained everything? 

Nope. 

The princess would be paranoid enough to believe it was all some black magic trick and run off screaming about evil schemes and doppelgangers. It would still mean that Audrey would have to be kidnapped to convince her. The only way to fix this was go through with it for now.

“What about Chad?” Mal cut into her thoughts.

They both burst out laughing. 

Thorn was being such a bitch. Chad had been a good friend to her. But at this age he was still too self absorbed to press the issue. And then he never got the chance to grow out of it.

“Actually though,” Thorn began to explain. “He’ll realize something is going on. He might bring it up with Audrey. But she’ll shut him down. And everyone else will be too polite to say anything out right. Actually, people might accuse Audrey of using you and your rising popularity instead.”

“What?” Mal’s eyes went wide. “They’d do that?”

“That’s Auradon Prep for you.” Thorn shook her head. “The princess pushed away her real friends and she’s just surrounded by sycophants and asskissers now, who’ll drop her the minute she isn’t Queen Bee.”

“I kinda feel sorry for Audrey now.” Mal looked down at her boots.

“She made her choices,” Thorn gruffed out. 

“Still-“

“Well take her on a pity date then.” She waved her hand at Mal. She blew out some air. “And sorry for raising my voice earlier. You got enough of that growing up. I know it’s not an excuse, but I was worried for you and your friends. I still am.”

“Oh. Yeah.” Mal rubbed the back of her head, like she didn’t know what to do with the apology. Or any apology because no one had ever apologized to her before. “Thanks, I guess. For looking out for us then.”

“Mal!”

“Shit. That’s Audrey. I’ll be seeing you. But you won’t see me.” Thorn turned and ran.

…

Mal watched Thorn run off into the woods.

“There you are! What are you doing alone over here?” Audrey came up to Mal, smile on her face instead of a scowl. The princess was still in her cheerleading uniform. 

Mal tried to come up with an explanation, so she wouldn’t have to look at Audrey’s toned legs. She swallowed thickly. “I’m still not used to crowds.” 

It wasn’t a lie. 

Crowds made her nervous and she was always waiting for an attack to happen. But then again she was always waiting for an attack to happen when she was alone too. She never could never let her guard down. She only trusted four people. Herself, Jay, Evie, and Carlos. 

She thought of Thorn, her Black Knight. 

Well, five now.

“Oh! I understand. That was a lot back there. And I hope I didn’t put you on the spot. That whole thing with Ben and Evie. The whole song and dance. I got the feeling you wouldn’t be into that so much.” Audrey chewed on her lip, waiting for Mal to confirm or deny. 

“You’re right. I wouldn’t.” Mal didn’t much like to be the center of attention. Grand romantic gestures in public were more Evie’s speed. She also didn’t like that Audrey could read her so easily.

“I’ve never done this before.”Audrey wrung her hands in front of her nervously, rubbing the yellow sweatband on her wrist. “Usually I’m the one getting asked out. And it’s not like I’ve dated much. I’ve been with Ben for the longest time. And like I said he asked me out.”

“Audrey, relax.” Mal chuckled at seeing the usually collected princess so flustered. But then she started to get flustered herself when she realized what was about to happen.

“Yes. Relax.” Audrey took a deep breath. “Would you like to go on a date with me? You can say no. I understand if you do. I wasn't exactly the nicest when you all first arrived.”

“It uh, would be my pleasure.” Mal felt out of her depth. They didn't do dates on the Isle.

“I know you probably didn't do dates on the Isle, so I’ll think of something extra special.” Audrey leaned in towards Mal, a smile lighting up her face. 

Being forced to spend time with Audrey sounded like the worst possible thing.

“Can’t wait,” Mal gulped.

Mal wished there was a way out of this. But Thorn was right. Audrey would not hesitate to turn them all in and then they would be sent back to the Isle. To her mother. 

She reminded herself why she was here.

She couldn’t fail. She would do anything needed to pull this off.

Even go on a date with Audrey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Leave any observations or theories or anything at all in the comments.
> 
> Oh, Mal. Pretty sure she's not so upset at having to go on a date with Audrey.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thorn helps Mal get ready for her date with Audrey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, my dear readers. Your comments really make my day.

Her friends were all in good moods, happier than Mal had ever seen them. Carlos had access to tech like he never had before and he was making friends, both human and canine. Jay was basking in the afterglow of his win at the Tourney Championship Final. Evie had gotten a B+ on her chemistry test without cheating and Ben had asked her out on a date.

While her date with Ben made Evie excited, that didn’t mean she wasn’t also freaking out. The girl was rushing around their dorm room, like a skittish bird. She had changed her hair from an up-do to down again. And she had also changed her outfit multiple times. Mal had gotten nervous just watching her.

“Mal, I’m so sorry! I wish I could help you get ready for your date with Audrey. But Ben-”

“I told you it’s fine. Don’t worry about me. I don’t want to add to your stress. Easy on the blush. You’re already perfect.” Mal watched Evie rush around their room. 

“He’s a prince. I don’t know where he’s taking me. What if we go to a fancy restaurant and everyone there watches my every move. I’ve been training for this my entire life, but I’m not ready.” Evie looked at her outfit in the mirror. 

Mal put her hands on Evie’s shoulders to steady her. “You are ready.” 

Evie was in a blue sundress and kitten heels. Mal didn’t know about all that. Evie had to explain it all to her. She wore what she liked in her day to day so she didn’t know much about clothes like Evie. The other girl’s makeup had highlighted her eyes and her lips. Evie had her hair down in waves. 

“You’re absolutely stunning.” Mal cracked a smile, as she complimented Evie. She didn’t really give them away so freely. 

There was a knock at the door. 

Mal opened it. Carlos was standing with Ben. The prince was holding two helmets and looked all kinds of eager. 

“Found this one on the way over here.” Carlos stepped into the room. “Evie, you look amazing.”

“Thank you.” Evie nervously turned to her date. “Hi, Ben.”

“Wow. Evie, just when I didn’t think you could look any more gorgeous than you already are, you go and prove me wrong.”

The two dipped their heads shyly. It was absolutely adorable. 

Too bad it wasn’t real. Mal pushed the thought from her head. 

“Why thank you, Ben.” Evie beamed at him.

“Shall we? Hope you like bikes.” Ben raised his arm so Evie could wrap hers around it.

“One second.” Evie turned to Mal and Carlos. “Carlos, remember what I said. Mal, have fun on your date with Audrey.”

“You have fun on yours.” It came out like an order, but she really meant it. “Bye, Evie!” 

“Bye, guys,” Ben nodded as he linked arms with Evie.

Evie threw them one more look of excitement before the door closed.

Mal reeled on Carlos. “What are you doing here?”

“Evie wanted me to help you get ready for your date with Audrey.” Carlos shrugged. 

“She already picked out my outfit.” Mal looked over at the bed where a dress was laid out. “I’m not that hopeless with makeup. How hard could it be?”

“She just worries,” Carlos explained.

“Oh, I get it. You’re here to make sure I don’t back out,” Mal huffed. 

“Nope. I’m here to make sure you don’t back out.” A voice sounded from behind her.

Mal spun around. 

“Thorn! Don’t sneak up on me like that.” 

Thorn hopped down from the window sill. “Apologies.”

Dude barked at the woman in armor and then spun around in three circles. He nuzzled her leg. “Hey there, sweet pup.”

“Oh wow. He likes you.” Carlos seemed ready to trust her since his dog did. 

“I mean, Dude likes everyone. And I like Dude.” Thorn stood up and held out a hand to the boy. “You must be Carlos.” 

“And you’re Mal’s Knight?” Carlos shook Thorn’s hand.

“I really wish Evie didn’t tell you and Jay that,” Mal grumbled.

“Even if she hadn’t, she looks like a knight in that armor. Which looks like something out of one of my video games.” Carlos leaned forward to study the armor more closely.

“To answer your question, yes. I suppose I am hers,” Thorn sounded amused. There was probably a smile behind her mask.

Mal felt heat spread along her face.

“I’m Thorn, by the way.”

“Like a codename?” Carlos asked in awe. 

“That’s it.” Thorn pointed at him. “You should get changed, Mal.”

“Do I have to?” Mal whined.

“Yes,” both Carlos and Thorn said.

Mal picked up the dress Evie had picked out for her and slipped into the bathroom. Naturally, the dress was purple but there was also black lacework over it. Evie said to pair it with a cropped black leather jacket for a casual date look.

Mal looked into the mirror and took a deep breath. She could do this. She got changed.

Leaving the bathroom, Mal found Carlos animatedly asking Thorn questions. For her part, Thorn didn’t seem to mind. 

“That’s so cool.” Carlos turned towards her excitedly. “Mal, did you know Thorn has a motorcycle?” 

“Yeah. I rode it that first night after she helped me escape the museum,” Mal couldn’t help but smile at the memory.

“You got to ride it?” Carlos gasped. “Can I have a ride too? Jay went to look for Lonnie to ask her for a sparring match while I’m doing this. Knowing him, that's going to take awhile.” The boy stuck his tongue out in disgust. “I was just going to play video games in our room after. But maybe we could…” He seemed to realize how eager he sounded and trailed off.

“Jay and Lonnie?” Thorn asked the same question Mal had asked herself the other day. “But sure. I don’t see why not? Just gotta get Mal ready for her date. Which, go have a seat, Mal.” She nodded towards the room’s table. 

“I thought you were here to make sure I didn’t run off,” Mal teased.

“I mean, Carlos can do eyeliner better than me. But I know what Audrey likes.”

“Does it matter? She’s under a spell. I could wear a garbage bag and she wouldn’t be able to take her eyes off me,” Mal joked but something pulled at her mind. She almost felt bad about what she was doing, but squashed the feeling down again. 

“Humor me?” Thorn pulled out a chair for Mal.

“Only because you asked.” Mal took a seat.

Evie’s makeup was set out on the table. Carlos sat down on Evie’s bed to watch. It seemed that Thorn was his new favorite problem to solve. Mal knew what that was like. She was no closer to knowing who Thorn really was. 

Thorn was leaning in close to apply the makeup. So close. Mal could just reach up and rip off the mask to satisfy her curiosity. She just sat there instead. Anyone else and she would have. But she didn’t want to violate Thorn’s trust like that. For some reason, she wanted Thorn to trust her enough to show her who she was without the mask. To take it off in front of her.

Mal tried not to groan. She had been in Auradon way too long.

Thorn picked up a palette of different colored powders. She had watched Evie earlier as she explained how she was doing her makeup, so Mal could do her own. Evie had suggested purple eyeshadow to bring out her eyes. She was just about to tell Thorn.

“Close,” Thorn instructed her. 

Mal closed one eye. Even though she felt safe with Thorn, suspicion was a hard habit to break.

“You have such nice eyes.” Thorn rubbed a finger tip in the lavender eyeshadow and started to gently apply it to Mal’s eyelid. 

Thorn’s hands were the only parts of her uncovered. The skin there was rough and calloused, like someone from the Isle. But her touch was gentle. Mal studied Thorn’s hands. She noticed the scars. As well as the small tattoos there along her fingers. She had seen the marks somewhere. 

“I guess,” Mal didn’t know what to do with the compliment. She knew she was attractive, but it only mattered to her in terms of how she could weaponize it and use it to get what she wanted. 

“No really. They have gold flecks in them.” Thorn finished with her eye.

“Thanks.” Mal bit her lip.

“You can learn alot about a person when you look into their eyes. Wouldn’t you agree?” Thorn was studying her, even behind the mask Mal could tell. 

“Is that why you wear a mask?” Mal looked over Thorn’s masked face.

“Part of it.” Thorn sat back in her chair. “ _Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are._ We all wear masks. And do what’s expected of us. Hide our emotions and desires away.”

“Yeah,” Mal choked out. 

“Should I give you two the room?”

Mal had forgotten that Carlos was even there. The boy was good at going unnoticed. It was a skill he used to observe and gather information. It was great when he used it on his enemies. Mal didn’t like it when he used it on her.

“Carlos!” Mal growled at the boy.

“What!” Carlos grinned.

Thorn gave off a small laugh. There was none of the usual amusement in it. It sounded breathy and... sad? The masked woman was looking at Carlos. 

“Are you… okay?” Mal wanted to reach out to comfort the masked girl. What was wrong with her?

“I always forget how young you guys were,” Thorn sighed. “Are.” 

“Yeah?” Carlos asked. His face scrunched up, deep in thought. 

“Well, maybe you guys will get a chance here. That’s what I want for you.” Thorn said firmly. She put her hand on Mal’s knee. 

“That’s why you’re helping us?” Mal confronted Thorn. She still didn’t understand why someone would do something for them without wanting anything in turn. 

“Yes.” 

That answer was said without any hesitation. It was such a shock. 

“Okay,” Mal let it rest for now. She’d bring it up again.

“Let me finish your other eye. Audrey will be here soon. She’s punctual. Actually she’ll show up early. Because,” Thorn put on a voice, like she was mimicking a strict and stuffy adult. “Being early is on time, on time is late and being late is unacceptable.”

Thorn laughed and Carlos and Mal joined in.

“Oh, evil. All the teachers were on our asses for being late to class since we started here.” Mal wanted to roll her eyes at the attitudes here.

“Stay still.” Thorn started on her other eye. “You guys are still adjusting. Since I’m sure being late to class was respected and accepted back on the Isle.”

“It was,” Carlos said slowly. 

“The teachers should understand that. An exchange student from a different kingdom with a different culture would be given that courtesy. But you guys should start showing up early. A power move. Show up before the teacher and say that. “Early is on time.” Using their own rules against them.”

“I love that!” Mal chuckled. “We’ll have to try that. The look on Mrs. Blanchard’s face.”

“Oh please do.” Thorn put her hand down. “There. Finished. How does she look, Carlos? 

There was a knock at the door.

Mal looked at Thorn in shock. But the woman was nowhere to be seen. She glanced at Carlos. She must have looked alarmed because he reassured her. 

“Under the bed,” he whispered. 

Mal nodded and answered the door.

“Hey, Audrey.” Mal greeted the other girl. “Oh wow.”

The princess was dressed down for once. Mal wouldn’t have guessed the other girl owned jeans, but here she was wearing grey ones. The simple look was completed with a plain white shirt under a pink bomber jacket. For once, the girl wasn’t in heels. Instead, she had on white sneakers. 

“Wow yourself.” Audrey looked Mal up and down. She licked her upper lip. 

The two girls fell quiet, just taking each other in. Until Carlos, smacked Mal on the arm.

Dude barked at Audrey and then spun around in three circles. He nuzzled her leg. “Hey there, sweet pup.”

Carlos stared at Audrey. “Huh. He likes you.” 

“I mean, Dude is a sweetie. Such a good boy that likes everyone. So it’s hard not to like Dude. Thank you for looking after him.” Audrey smiled sweetly.

Mal thought Audrey had such a nice smile when it was a real one. Audrey could be soft when she needed to be. She knew who needed her edges and knew when to be firm. But maybe she was always rigid and stern as a counter to Ben’s gentle touch. It wasn’t Mal’s style since she knew a leader had to be hard and to be feared. But Audrey could be loved by her subjects if she was real with them. 

Too bad none of that would matter when they got the wand.

“It’s no problem.” Carlos nodded at Audrey. He glanced at the bed Thorn was under. Then back at Audrey.

But Audrey was back to staring at Mal. “Shall we?”

“Yeah!” Mal’s voice cracked. She coughed, then nodded. “Yes. We shall.” 

“I have so much planned for us. But don’t worry, Carlos. I’ll have her back to you guys before curfew!” Audrey grimaced. “I don’t know why I said that. I’ve never dated a girl before so-”

“I’m sure our date will be perfect. Knowing you.” Mal almost forgot the type of person Audrey was. She was probably going to take them to some snooty restaurant that would judge her. Or maybe not. The princess wasn’t dressed for it. She perked up. “I trust you.”

Audrey bit her lip, but then she was back to her smile. “I’m so relieved. You won’t be disappointed.”

“Just lock up behind you.” Mal instructed Carlos. She shot a final glance at Evie’s bed, while she and Audrey made her way to the door. 

“Have fun, Mal!” Carlos winked and puckered his lips. He began to make kissing noises. Audrey cracked a small smile, while Mal felt her face flush. 

“Ugh. Bye, Carlos.” Mal closed the door behind her.

…

“They’re gone. You can come out now,” Carlos announced.

Thorn crawled out from under the bed. Dude ran over to her. She pet the dog behind the ears. She looked up at Carlos. “You figured it out.”

“Dude confirmed it,” Carlos grinned, at his hypothesis being correct. But then he bit his lip thinking further. 

“You betrayed me!” Thorn said to the dog she was happily petting. “Who’s a good betrayer! You are!”

“Evie and I were talking about you.” Carlos sat cross legged on the floor next to her. “When she told me who she thought you were, I didn’t believe her.”

“Can’t blame you.” Thorn shrugged. She pushed up into a sitting position, one leg straight in front of her and the other tucked up against her chest.

“I have so many questions.”

“I mean, why wouldn’t you? But first, let’s get some food.” Thorn stretched her arms over her head. “Let me borrow your laptop and I’ll order something for us. I haven’t had pizza in forever. Pepperoni and mushroom. You’ll love it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carlos and Evie have Thorn figured out. There's that to look forward to.
> 
> And of course. The Date! 
> 
> Let me know what you guys liked this chapter. And what you're looking forward to.
> 
> “Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.” is a quote from The Prince by Machiavelli.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrey starts to learn about life on the Isle from Mal. Mal learns more about Audrey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short update. I hope to have part one of the date proper out soon. 
> 
> Big thanks to MarvelousAvengfulSlytherin for listening and helping me out when I'm stuck.

“Oh, wow. This is your car?” Mal paused as she took in the car in front of her.

She didn’t know much about cars outside of that they existed. She had seen scraps and pieces of them from time to time in Jafar’s Junk Shop. And had seen them whole on the only TV channel they got back on the Isle and had ridden in the limo that took them to Auradon. She didn’t know anything about types and models, just that it looked newer than the car Cruella had framed photos of.

“What? Surprised it’s not pink?” Audrey smirked as she opened the passenger door for her. Mal slipped into the seat.

Audrey’s car was not pink. In fact, it was red with black leather seats. There was a soft black top instead of a hard one. Mal admired the car’s interior around her, while she waited for Audrey to get in behind the wheel.

“That,” Mal continued once Audrey was inside the car. The girl put her purse between their seats, then slipped her phone into the car’s console. “And the fact you’re going to drive us and not a driver guy with the suit and hat.”

“The,” Audrey giggled then sighed. “ _Chauffeur_ my grandmother would have hired? He would report my every move back to her. Sometimes it’s nice to get away without anyone knowing where I was.” The princess ran her fingers along the steering wheel. “My grandmother had a fit when my dad gave me this car after we worked on it together.”

“You worked on this car?” Mal raised an eyebrow.

“Buckle up,” Audrey grabbed a belt and pulled it across her body. Mal copied her movements, clicking the buckle into the clasp just like the other girl showed her. “Yes. It’s something my father likes to do in his free time. And I just would spend time with him while he was tinkering on classic cars and motorcycles around the garage while I was growing up. So when I was old enough,” she started the car and pulled out of the student parking lot. “I just started to help him. So the car is red, because it’s my dad’s favorite color. Candy apple red to be exact.”

“You and your dad are close.” Mal wrinkled her nose. She didn’t know what that was like. Her dad abandoned her to Maleficent. “That’s nice.”

Audrey noticed Mal fidgeting. “We can put on some music if that would make you more comfortable?”

Mal sucked on her teeth. “Okay.”

Audrey touched a button on the radio. “It’s a custom sound system. This company makes them look just like the original ones. Keeping the look and feel of a classic Mustang but with bluetooth so I can connect my music. Everything else is what you’d find in a fresh out the factory model. I kept the original ashtray for a place to put my phone.”

Music started to fill the car. 

“I was listening to this song while getting ready for our date. I love this. I mean it’s my music on my phone so of course I love it.” Audrey bopped her head along to the beat.

_Oh I-_  
I want to be with you everywhere  
Be with you everywhere 

“Something’s happening, happening to me. My friends say I’m acting peculiarly.” Audrey winked at Mal as she sang along. She had a beautiful singing voice.

Mal tried to smile back, but she felt uncomfortable. The lyrics were too on the nose. The love spell was making Audrey act weird. 

“If you don’t like it you can change it.” Audrey was frowning.

“No, it’s fine.” Mal waved her off. 

“So what kind of music do you like?” Audrey tapped the steering wheel. “Maybe if you tell me I can figure out some artists for you. Or we’ll be stuck listening to the playlist I made. I have you down as a classic rock type of girl. But something tells me you’re full of surprises. Grab my phone. The passcode is R-O-S-E. The letters are under the numbers.”

“I don’t know much about music.” Mal shrugged, as she handled Audrey’s phone. She typed in the code on the phone’s screen. “We didn’t have much of it on the Isle. Damaged instruments. Busted record players and cracked vinyl. Cassette tapes. CDs. Nothing like this.” She held up the phone. “I don’t get all this tech stuff. That’s more Carlos’s thing. He did fix up a music player from some thrown away parts for our hideout. He’s a genius like that. With mostly songs we’d all agree on.”

“Yeah? That sounds fun. Hanging out with your friends like that.” Audrey nodded, processing everything Mal was telling her.

“It was. There’s probably better music here.” Mal looked out the window. There was so much beyond the walls of Auradon Prep. Trees and flowers. An older couple was walking their dog. A younger couple was holding the hand of their child between them. There was a group of Auradon Prep students laughing at a table outside some cafe. People going about their day, who had no idea what Mal and her gang were planning to unleash on them. 

She didn’t care about these people. She couldn’t. She shoved them from her thoughts, and returned to her conversation with Audrey. 

“Who would throw away good cassettes and CDs?” Mal put her hands in her lap and balled them up.

“I guess everyone would since no one listens to tapes and CDs these days.” Audrey glanced at Mal. “Wait, thrown out. Like garbage?”

The car stopped at a sign, right next to the cafe.

“Yeah. Garbage.” Mal watched the teens get up from the table, leaving behind half finished food. “The Isle gets Auradon’s garbage.”

“Your clothes and food?” Audrey bit her lip. “It’s all garbage?”

“Evie showed me a banana. I had no idea there was something inside. I had only ever seen the peels,” Mal chuckled, as she turned back to face the princess. 

But Audrey wasn’t laughing. “How awful.”

Mal shrugged. Evie had given her some tips. Some first date do’s and don’ts. One of them was to keep things light because people got sad in Auradon. Mal thought back to how Lonnie reacted in the kitchen. Mal thought Audrey was made of stronger stuff. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Mal bowed her head and clutched the phone in both hands.

“Still-”

“I said don’t worry about it,” Mal said firmly. She sighed. “Sorry.”

The car behind them honked it’s horn. Both girls startled at the sound. Even in Auradon, the car horns were polite. 

“Oh, _spindles_.” Audrey cringed and waved at the driver behind her in apology. 

Mal snorted at the way the princess censored herself. It was adorable. She tried not to groan and instead thought about how Thorn seemed to be someone from Auradon that swore a lot. If Audrey heard the word “fuck” or “ass”, the girl would probably faint.

“It’s fine. I shouldn’t push you.” Audrey looked back at the road. The car moved and Mal tried to leave her discomfort behind. 

The music filled the silence. Mal was grateful for it. The song was actually good. She didn’t really know what to do with the phone, so she just let the music play. 

“I like this one.” Mal pointed at the car radio.

“ _Under Pressure _?” Audrey asked.__

__“What?” Mal tensed. That certainly was one way to describe her predicament. But Audrey shouldn’t know that._ _

__“The song.” Audrey looked at her phone in Mal’s hands. “It’s by Queen and David Bowie._ _

__“Queen. Seriously, that’s their name?” Mal teased, as she put her hand on Audrey’s knee. “Sounds like they’d be your favorite band.”_ _

__Mal moved her hand from Audrey’s knee once she realized where it was. She thought touching people was gross. She wasn’t into hugs and cuddles, or anything mushy. Audrey had to have noticed where Mal had put her hand. The princess didn’t say anything. Mal decided to ignore it too._ _

__“Ha,” Audrey drew the word out. “Really though.”_ _

__“Oh, wait.” She wagged a finger in the air. “I think I know them.”_ _

__“Yeah?”_ _

__“My da- Someone I knew on the Isle had their records. Always played the one that went… another one bites the dust?” Mal laughed at that. Of course her father would like that song._ _

__“What’s so funny?” Audrey pursed her lips._ _

__“Inside joke.” Mal explained, shaking her head at how funny it was._ _

__“Well, I guess a lot of people on the Isle would like _Another One Bites the Dust._ ” Audrey said dryly, but then she cracked a smile. _ _

__The two girls started laughing together. Mal was doubled over in her seat. Audrey’s body was shaking with laughter. It was such a dumb and bad joke, but once Audrey started to laugh Mal couldn’t help but join in. The princess’s laugh was as musical as her singing voice._ _

__“Too bad we’re almost there,” Audrey frowned, but it was quickly replaced by a shy smile. “But I’ll make you a playlist?”_ _

__“Okay,” Mal agreed because she didn’t want to admit that she didn’t know what a playlist was._ _

__“We’re here!”Audrey giggled as Mal stared through the windshield to the building in front of them. Audrey had brought them to the museum. Mal tried not to panic._ _

__“Where is here?” Mal said. She couldn’t let on that she knew where they were._ _

__“The Museum of Cultural History,” Audrey undid her seat belt and turned towards her with a huge grin._ _

__“You brought me to the museum?” Mal shook her head. If it weren’t for the love spell, she would have thought that Audrey was up to something._ _

__“It’s just the first part of our date. Dorky, I know. I’m something of a history buff. We’re not here for that part though.” Audrey waved her words off. “There’s an art exhibit I think you’d enjoy.”_ _

__“Art?” Mal’s brow furrowed._ _

__“Because you’re an artist,” Audrey explained. “I’ve seen your work. Kind of hard to miss. The bright, vibrant colors in a world of pastels.” She held her hands in front of her and spread them apart to the sides. “It’s beautiful work.”_ _

__“Thanks for noticing. But I think the school frowns on my art.” Mal snorted, amused at the way this conversation was going. “The word vandalism was thrown around.”_ _

__“Yes. I’m so pleased Ben smoothed that over. It would be unfair after all.” Audrey opened her car door and got out. Once Mal had done the same, she continued. “There’s a lot of street art around the city. It adds to the culture, I think.”_ _

__“Really?” Mal came to stand next to Audrey. Together, they started to walk towards the museum entrance. “I think I’d like to see that.”_ _

__“Maybe I can show you next time,” Audrey smirked._ _

__Mal almost stumbled in shock. For a moment, Mal forgot that the other girl was under a love spell. It was making the other girl bold. But it was hard not to play along._ _

__“Already angling for a second date?” Mal recovered._ _

__“If you’ll have me.” Audrey looked back at her over her shoulder._ _

__Because of the love spell, Mal would always have Audrey._ _

__Mal looked away. “We’ll see how this one goes.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This just felt like a natural part to split it. >:D 
> 
> Let me know what you think in comments. Love hearing from you guys!
> 
> Shout out again to MarvelousAvengfulSlytherin for giving me the idea of having Audrey's car be red and black, her father's colors. And for listening to my ideas.And to AmityRavenclawElf, who came up with having Audrey saying "Oh, spindles." 
> 
> You can find them both on AO3. Check out their fics!
> 
> Featured songs:
> 
> _Everywhere_ by Fleetwood Mac. You should also check out the cover by Bootstraps. It's such a different vibe from the original.
> 
> _Under Pressure_ by Queen and David Bowie. This is because I made that some of the bands in Auradon would be like Queen, Pixies, Imagine Dragons, Lorde, Beastie Boys, They Might Be Giants, Smashing Pumpkins.. THERE'S A THEME! _Another One Bites The Dust_ by Queen gets mentioned. Of course.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first part of the date Audrey has planned. Mal isn't as good at lying as she thinks she is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since the last update was short, I'm getting this out earlier.
> 
> Thanks to every one that's been reading and reviewing.
> 
> Once again, _Spindles_ as an Audrey swear belongs to AmityRavenclawElf

Audrey held the door open for Mal and then they were inside the museum. While Mal had already been to the museum, she looked around in awe. It looked so different in the daylight. She hadn’t used the main entrance, but instead broken in through a side door. There were colorful flags hanging from the ceiling and a statue of Queen Belle in the center of the room behind a wooden desk. 

She remembered what Thorn had told her that night they had met, that this mansion used to belong to a noble that had chosen to side with the villains. Mal wondered if that was the case with Auradon Prep. To the victors go the spoils. The nobleman had risked it all for power and he failed. Mal shuddered at the thought. That would not be her.

“Princess Audrey! And guest! Welcome!” A woman in a blazer greeted them from behind the desk. “Just go on up to the West Wing. You can’t miss it. Enjoy!”

Audrey put her hand on the small of Mal’s back and led her to the West Wing. “The exhibit opens to the public tomorrow. We’re getting a sneak peek.”

“The perks of dating royalty, huh?” Mal shivered at Audrey’s touch. Then she realized what she had said.

The princess dipped her head. “Uh, right this way.”

There were banners with gorgeous art on them. It was just a taste of what they were about to see. Mal found herself getting excited. She had never seen art that would be appreciated for its beauty and not only for it being property damage. 

“This area isn’t open to the public just yet, girls.” A man stepped in front of her, with his hand held up.

It was the security guard Mal had spelled to sleep. She tensed. 

“Hi, Mr. Frank,” Audrey slipped in between them.

“Oh! Afternoon, Princess Audrey.” Frank the Security Guard saluted her. “Who’s your friend?”

“This is Mal.” Audrey had her hand on Mal’s arm. The princess’s stance was oddly protective, like she was ready to defend Mal’s honor.

“Hello, Miss.” Frank the Security Guard nodded. “Enjoy the exhibit, you two.”

“I always do. Say hello to your wife for me.” Audrey beamed at him, full of charm.

“Uh, thank you, sir.” Mal waved awkwardly. 

Playing along was hard. Evie was much more suited to all this. It was a good thing they picked Evie for the big score. Mal was getting nervous and it was just a guard. Audrey was making her nervous. 

“My mother fought to get this artist’s work in the museum.” Audrey grabbed Mal’s hand and led her into the exhibit. “This artist does amazing portraits. A mix of traditional realism with a modern twist. The backgrounds are so colorful. I think a lot of older nobles will be writing angry letters to the museum though. Since some of the subjects are Villains. But I don’t think it’ll be as bad when an artist did a series called _Happy Endings_ and all the paintings were of the Villains beating the Heroes. They were good paintings of course.” 

Audrey liked to talk. But Mal found herself enjoying it rather than getting annoyed. It was strange. The girl would talk about her car or some painter with such passion. Audrey hadn’t wanted anything to do with them when they had first arrived in Auradon. Now she was sharing things with her, letting little slips of realness get through. 

“But Gaston mounting the King’s beastly head on a wall gave me nightmares. I guess King Adam had them commissioned to remind people of why we built the Isle. But I’m starting to wonder about that. Oh goodness. I’m just going on and on. What about you? What do you think?” Audrey had stopped.

“It’s fine. I mean you’re good.” Mal nodded at her. “I like to hear you talk about something you enjoy.”

Audrey covered her mouth to hide her laugh. “It’s nice to know you enjoy my ramblings. The painting, Mal. What do you think of the painting?” 

Mal had been so focused on Audrey that she hadn’t realized they were in front of a painting. She turned to look at the artwork. Her jaw dropped.

Queen Tiana of Maldonia was in vibrant greens and yellows, walking on water with a brightness behind her making her glow. Pinpricks of lights surrounded her. 

“Wow.” Mal leaned in closer. “It’s like I could step in and feel so warm. All that light.”

“It’s supposed to be a setting sun, I think.” Audrey read a plaque on the wall next to the painting. “And those are fireflies.” 

“Do they really do that? Glow?”

“They do. Bioluminescence. It’s how they communicate. They look like you’re walking among the stars when there’s a lot of them.” 

“Stars,” Mal said slowly, trying the word out. “I haven’t seen those yet. I mean, I haven’t paid attention to the sky since we got here. You couldn’t see the stars on the Isle. And the sun didn’t shine through the clouds. It was always so cold. Not like here. Where it’s bright and warm. So much more colorful. Like this.” She rubbed her hand along the sleeve of Audrey’s bomber jacket. “Didn’t really see this kind of pink on the Isle. Maybe a stray kitten’s nose or like when someone would stick their tongue out.” 

Mal’s eyes flicked to Audrey’s pink lips. She didn’t mean to. But saying the word tongue just made her think of lips and she looked at Audrey’s. Mal cringed. She was talking about stars and kittens like a loser. 

Audrey hadn’t noticed. She seemed to be deep in thought. 

“Ben, Chad and I would try to catch fireflies in the summer when we were little. Ben is how I know what I know about fireflies. An eight year old saying bioluminescence is adorable to hear. But you can’t keep them forever. They have to be free.” Audrey bit her lip and looked away.

They were too close. The two of them were quiet, heads bowed and breathing each other in. The truth was an uncomfortable thing for Mal. She would always push the truth away. 

“Uh, I also haven’t seen fireflies.” Mal fumbled backwards. “I should make a list, huh?”

“A whole new world.” Audrey was actually smirking, almost like a challenge. Or an invitation. 

“Oh, evil,” Mal groaned.

“What?” 

Mal nodded her head at the next painting to explain.

It was of Sultana Jasmine and her tiger.

“No. I didn’t mean- That.” Audrey waved her hand, rolling it at the wrist. She giggled. “I mean like there’s a million things you haven’t done. Like you haven’t seen the stars or fireflies. Or the sunset. Things I take for granted because I’m so used to it. You can experience all of that for the first time.” 

“Any recommendations,” Mal realized Audrey was right. 

“Hmm. I have some ideas,” Audrey winked. “But let’s look at the rest of the exhibit. You’ll see.” 

They looked at each of the paintings. They would comment here and there. 

The Queen of Hearts with rose bushes behind her dripping red in such a way that Mal couldn’t be sure it was paint or blood. The green leafy background made all the red stand out.

“You know, she runs a salon back on the Isle.”

“Really? And people trust her just to take a little off the top instead of a lot.” Audrey smirked. Mal found herself enjoying Audrey’s sense of humor.

Cinderella dressed in rags scrubbing a black and white tiled floor surrounded by bubbles, birds and mice. 

“How did Chad end up the way he did with Cinderella as his mother?” Mal wondered aloud. The prince had a reputation around Auradon Prep. Not to mention how he had tricked Evie into doing his homework. Mal could have respected his hustle if Evie wasn’t one of his victims. And if he wasn’t so bad at it. 

Audrey frowned and Mal realized that she had just insulted one of the other girl’s friends.

“I mean-”

“No, you’re right. But I guess the same could be asked about me.” Audrey stopped in front of the next painting. 

It was of Aurora dancing barefoot in the woods with a stolen red cape and feathered hat before an audience of animals.

“Audrey, you’re,” Mal struggled, scrunching her face up. “Nice.”

“Wow.” Audrey laughed. A real honest laugh instead of one that was forced. “You dug really deep for that one. Shouldn’t you be a better liar? I think I’m better at lying than you.”

“What! No way. Isn’t Auradon against lying?”

“We don’t call it lying. Which is the first lie. We call it omitting information, denying the truth, or exaggerating information. The Good Fairies lied to my mom to keep her safe. General Fa lied to the army to save her dad. We lie to do more good. Agreeing with someone to preserve a relationship,” Audrey cleared her throat and looked away. “Or to spare someone’s feelings. Self-serving lies are what's bad.”

“That sounds twisted.” Mal didn’t bring up that sounded like what Ben and Audrey’s relationship was like. Or that she couldn’t believe Audrey was saying this part out loud.

“That’s Auradon rationalization for you. They would never admit it though. All part of the dealings and maneuvering here between the royals. I’m good at it. I’ll prove it,” Audrey chuckled. “I’ll tell you two truths, and a lie. You pick the lie.”

“Okay. I’ll play,” Mal shook her head, deciding to humor the princess. This was going to be good.

“My favorite food is pepperoni and mushroom pizza. Before Ben, I would practice kissing with Lonnie. Several times. And my favorite color is pink.” 

Mal had studied Audrey’s face for any tells or bluffs. She couldn’t pick up on any. Audrey’s favorite color was obviously pink. She was wearing a pink jacket after all. As for pizza, Mal didn’t know enough about the food to say whether it was or wasn’t Audrey’s favorite food. Maybe it could be fancy. And while Audrey did come off as prissy and stuck up, Mal knew she was so much into image and perfection that the other girl definitely would have practiced kissing before doing the real thing with a boy. The lie had to be the “several times”. 

“The lie is kissing Lonnie several times. I can see once or twice. But several?” Mal raised her eyebrow. “And you’re not currently dating her? I mean, Lonnie is hot.”

“Should I feel jealous?” Audrey smirked. “You’re on a date with me and you’re talking about how attractive another girl is.”

“Wait, no. You’re gorgeous. So don’t be?” Mal looked Audrey up and down to prove her point. Audrey was attractive. 

“Mal, you’re drooling.” 

“What!” Mal’s hand went to her mouth. She wasn’t drooling. “You’re teasing me. I take it back. Your butt isn’t amazing in those jeans.”

“My butt, huh?” Audrey walked ahead of Mal, as if to give her a view. She looked back at Mal over her shoulder and caught her staring.

“You’re mean.” Mal pouted.

“I would have thought that you’d be into that.”

“Yeah. I mean, yeah.” Mal nodded. “Lonnie is sweet, but I don’t know. I think you’re more my speed.”

“Lonnie is sweet. She would give me gifts, like wild flowers she picked herself. We would talk. Spend time together, doing anything as long as we were together.”

“And you’d kiss. I don’t know much about dating.” Mal thought back to Evie’s explanation of what teens in Auradon considered dating during her flitting panic around the room before her own date with Ben so Mal would know what to expect. As Evie had gone on and on, she had thought of someone back on the Isle. But it hadn’t been like that. Right? She hated to think of her even now. 

She focused back on Audrey. “But that sounds like dating to me.”

“We weren’t- We were just- _Oh, spindles._ ” Audrey covered her face with her hands. 

“Hey, don’t feel bad about it. There’s nothing to feel bad about.” Mal patted Audrey’s shoulder hesitantly, hoping it was more comforting rather than awkward. She was surprised though. Audrey was the last person in Auradon Mal would ever expect to have same sex attraction. 

They were now standing in front of a painting of King Triton wielding this trident in grey blue water, a judgemental expression on his face. 

“It’s not that I kissed Lonnie. I know that I’m bisexual.” At Mal’s questioning look, Audrey explained, “That’s where someone is attracted to both guys and girls.”

“Oh. Then that’s me too. That!” Mal pumped her fist, almost about to give a thumbs up then decided against it.

“I mean if you weren’t attracted to girls, attracted to me, I doubt you would be here. Why else would you agree to going on a date with me?” Audrey worried her lip.

Mal panicked. She was on this date with Audrey because they were going for the wand and the princess had been swept up in their love spell plan. No other reasons. Certainly not because Audrey was attractive and made her heart race. But Mal wouldn’t admit to going for the wand. “Yes. I am attracted to you. Because you’re attractive.”

“You really know how to compliment a girl, huh?” Audrey teased.

“You bet.” Mal made finger guns and pointed them at Audrey. “But no. If you’re okay with being attracted to girls. What’s the problem?”

Audrey sighed and ran her hands through her hair, messing up the waves a bit.

“I picked Ben over Lonnie. We’re still friends, but we’re not as close now. I did the easier thing. The expected thing. Not to mention, my grandmother would just,” Audrey clenched her fists. “Pick me and my choices apart. And while I do love Ben dearly, maybe it’s just not so tiring to be with him. And now, I’ve dumped Ben for you. People would say it was sudden. But apparently it’s what I do.”

“That doesn’t make you a bad person. I think I know what a bad person would do. I grew up on an Isle filled with them.” Mal looked up at the painting they were in front of now. It was the Horned King standing over the Black Cauldron. His eyes were glowing red. She pointed at the portrait. “That’s a bad guy.” 

Audrey giggle. “Sorry for being such a downer on our date.”

“Yeah. You shouldn’t be sad. You’re going out with me after all.” Mal winked at her.

“Okay, Chad.” Audrey ignored Mal’s offended gasp. “So we’ve established that you fell for my lie.”

“Well, I don’t know how true that truth is. That you’ve practiced kissing with Lonnie. Are you any good?” Mal raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe you’ll find out.” Audrey leaned in close. Mal gulped. “Mal?”

“Uh, yeah.” Mal’s voice was high pitched. She cleared her throat. “Yeah?”

“You still have the second truth and the lie to figure out.” Audrey booped Mal’s nose with her finger. The princess spun on her heel quickly.

Mal stared after her with her mouth open until her brain caught up. Audrey was messing with her. If someone told her that Audrey could be playful, Mal would ask them if they had been hit in the head a few times too many. She found herself enjoying the teasing. She found herself enjoying hanging out with Audrey. 

“Well? I’m waiting.”

“Okay, then the lie is the pizza thing.” Mal took her place near Audrey. “You’re a princess. You probably eat fish eggs and duck liver. Real fancy, pinky up, five different forks type crap. Uh, food.”

“Nope,” Audrey popped the “p”.

“But you’re wearing a pink jacket right now!” Mal held her hands out at Audrey, her face scrunched up. “And outside of your cheer uniform, you wear a lot of pink.”

“My favorite color is Daphne blue. Like the first car I remember my dad working on. And some of the dresses my mom would wear when we would walk through the woods together.” Audrey smiled fondly as she shared her childhood memories.

“Okay, you do wear blues. Like when we first met. Jay called you, “Foxy”. And you didn’t slap him, even though you could have. Foxy,” Mal scoffed. “I mean, your hair looked so soft and your smile was bright.”She raked her teeth over her bottom lip, as she thought back to that day. “Foxy” lacked everything Audrey was. She couldn’t think of a word for her though. “And- Wait, that better not be Chad’s blue.”

“It’s not,” Audrey smiled sadly. “You noticed all that about me when we met? And then I opened my stupid mouth.”

“Actually, that’s what makes you interesting. You were a bitch.” Mal shrugged it off. “But you were testing me out. As much as court politics would allow." She looked over at Audrey, who nodded for confirmation. "I was on your turf and you saw me as a threat. I have that effect on people, so I can’t blame you. I even respected you for it. But I wasn’t just going to let you talk to me like that.”

“Coming from you, I know that’s high praise. To know I’m worth your time and counter-attack.” Audrey bumped her shoulder into Mal’s.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you were worth it.” 

Audrey was worth it. Mal reasoned that Audrey was a princess under a spell to be in love with her. That had some value for her plan to take over Auradon. There was no other reason to be interested in the girl beyond her being a pawn. None at all. 

Mal moved on to the next painting. “What am I looking at?”

It was a painting of some type of animal, crying fat tears in the rain, sitting in a puddle. It was mostly brown but had black fur or wool on it’s head. It had a long neck and a long face. She could almost hear the sobbing, the painter did such an amazing job.

“He’s a llama. Emperor Kuzco.”

“A llama? Weird.” Mal gave a crooked grin, which Audrey returned. 

“This artist though.” Mal waved her hand at all the paintings. “His style is gorgeous. Is there one of…”

“There is. My mom commissioned this exhibit and the artist’s next few projects on the condition of having a portrait of Maleficent done. The day after you and the other Villain Kids came, my mother called me. She told me to give you a chance. My mother and your mother were on good terms at one point.” Audrey looked away.

“Really?” Mal hadn’t heard that. The way her mom told it, Aurora and Philip had destroyed her life. 

“I don’t know. My mother never had anything bad to say about Maleficent. I guess she just always sounded sad if she ever spoke about her. Maybe it was some other sadness that I just couldn’t recognize when I was younger. Putting that together with how my grandmother and grandfather talked about Maleficent, I formed my own image of her. I didn’t question it.” Audrey pressed her lips together tightly, a slight frown forming.

The two of them were standing in front of the portrait of Maleficent now.

Maleficent was surrounded by green. Not the eerie green of Dragon Eye atop her scepter or the smoke and flames that announced her presence. Instead she was surrounded by the vibrant green of life. The greenery was trees, grass, and flowers and not deadly thorns keeping Prince Philip out. Maleficent was smiling, one that was regal and graceful. Not at all sinister or predatory. Mal never would have thought the figure in the portrait was her mother, the Mistress of Evil. It was like she was a whole different person. 

“ _The Queen of the Moors_. That’s what the painting is called,” Audrey explained.

“The Moors,” Mal said slowly. She had heard about the Moors from her mother, a homeland she thought she would never see. “Are they as gorgeous in real life as they are in the painting?”

“They’re a breathtaking sight. The Moorlands border Auroria. We could visit some time.”

“Like a trip?”

“Yeah. A road trip. Just explore the rest of Auradon. Add it to your To-Do List.”

“I’d like that.”

But it wouldn’t be an invitation to hangout with Audrey, without the princess talking about the history of Auroria and the Moorlands. “Maleficent crowned my mother queen in her stead. So while the Moors are a sovereign state, my mother is the ruler of both it and Auroria.”

“Oh,” Mal frowned. “My mom has no royal status here, huh. I would have been a princess. Could you imagine?”

“I really need to apologize to Evie for that comment.” Audrey blew out a breath slowly. “Would you want to be a princess though?”

“Sounds like a lot of work.” Mal scrunched her face up.

“It is. There’s a lot of procedure. Names of minor nobility to memorize. Which kingdoms and states don’t like each other and who wants to trade with us. Which of the five forks I need to be using,” Audrey joked. “Don’t want to start an international incident.”

“Yeah?” Mal liked that the princess remembered her joke from earlier. Audrey was paying attention to what she was saying.

“I’m just glad we’re at peace right now. If we were at war…” Audrey shook her head. She looked at her watch. It was a soft gold in color, something Evie said was rose gold. That fit Audrey well. “I think we can look at a few more pieces.”

“Can we? I didn’t get to see much-” Mal stopped herself from spilling the truth, that she hadn’t seen much of the museum while they were trying to rob it. “Art on the Isle. Aside from a smuggled portrait of the Evil Queen.”

“That makes sense,” Audrey frowned as she led Mal out of the exhibit. She paused to smile and thank the young security guard they passed on the way out. “Anything of value owned by anyone sent to the Isle was seized for restitution for their victims. Or put into the museum for display. Like Cruella DeVille’s car or Jafar’s staff. Like the museum itself. This used to be an estate of a noble that threw in with the villains. They’d have meetings here and it’s not like Captain Hook and Jafar could be seen using the front door. This way.” The princess headed towards a stairwell so they could go down. 

“So they used secret passageways to get inside,” Mal slipped in, hoping to impress Audrey with her own knowledge of history. She was glad that Thorn had talked about the museum that night they had met.

“How did you know that?” Audrey’s eyebrow went up, pausing on the top of the stairs. “It’s a well kept secret. I only know because Mr. Frank showed them to me since I’m such a history buff. I was here all the time growing up. It’s one of my favorite museums in the whole world.” 

“Jay’s dad told him. And he told me,” Mal came up with the lie on the spot.

“Hmm. Jafar would know, wouldn’t he?” Audrey’s eyes narrowed. “The noble met a tragic end at his own hands. He helped the wrong side. Though, I don’t know his motivations. Maybe he wanted power or maybe he was afraid. He didn’t get a chance to defend himself.” 

Mal gulped at Audrey’s words. If they got caught stealing the wand, would they get a chance to defend themselves? That’s why she had gone on this date with Audrey. Thorn told her to do it so no one would be suspicious. Even though Audrey was the person most suspicious of them in the first place. 

“But enough about that. How did you learn to draw? How did you get started with your art?” Audrey started down the stairs.

“I used things like tossed pens and charcoal and broken pencils. Leftover paint and spray cans.” Mal followed her. When Audrey turned back to face her, she stopped the other girl from talking by holding her hand up. “Hey, don’t. We already talked about the garbage. It is what it is.”

Audrey made a face like she was going to bring up conditions on the Isle with Ben. But the girl returned to the present instead of what she was going to do in the near future.“What did Maleficent think of your artwork?” 

“My mother didn’t like it. Until I started to deface things that belonged to other people. Still, she thought it was mostly a waste of time. People didn’t need vandalism to remember whose turf they were on. They were reminded through fear and violence.” Mal jabbed her fist into the air in front of them. She clenched it so tightly it shook. 

Audrey made that sour face again, but didn’t comment on the fear and violence. They just continued down the stairs. “I gave up things I enjoyed because of my grandmother. I loved fencing and fighting. I love working on cars and motorcycles with my dad.”

“Motorcycles, huh?” Mal thought of Thorn and the motorcycle she had used to rescue her from the Museum guards. “Do you know how to ride them?”

“I do.” Audrey put a finger to her lips. “But don’t tell anyone.”

“Why? Don’t want people to know you’re so much more than you let on?”

“Can’t be blowing minds.” Audrey trailed her hand down the stairwell’s railing. 

“You know, Ben showed up to our dorm room with two helmets.” 

Audrey snorted and laughed. “That little thing? He has a scooter. I have a _motorcycle_.” 

“Wow.” Mal was impressed. Audrey was so passionate about scooters and motorcycles, like she was insulted at the existence of the scooters. 

“It’s cute though. And so, so Ben. You know what I mean? Motorcycles on the other hand are dangerous. My mother hates them, but she tolerates them because my father loves them. I can’t blame him. I love them too. It’s different from driving a car. Don’t get me wrong I love driving. But I feel so free riding a motorcycle. It’ll be the closest to flying I’ll ever get.” Audrey looked so relaxed then, speaking of freedom. None of her stiff posturing and tense smiles.

“I know what you mean.” Mal had only ever been on a ride with Thorn. But she could imagine pressing up against Audrey’s back, her arms wrapped around her as they rode together. Thorn made her feel safe. 

And Audrey just made her feel confused.

Mal didn’t know if she liked that.

“So what’s your favorite painting? I want to say something romantic. Cinderella and Charming at the Ball?” Mal slow danced with an imaginary partner, just like she had seen on the one channel they got back on the Isle; one hand up high and her other where it would be on Audrey’s hip. If they were dancing. 

“Is that your idea of a waltz?” Audrey laughed. She stepped in, and twirled Mal. “Better let me lead.”

Not to be outdone, Mal wanted to get Audrey feeling all hot and confused. She kept going.

“Maybe Rapunzel and Eugene under the Lanterns?” Mal raised her hands above her head, and spread them apart, like the sky above them was filled with lanterns. “Or Aladdin and Jasmine on a Magic Carpet Ride?” She speared her hands and squatted down slowly, like she was on said magic carpet. 

“Oh, I know!” She leaned in close to Audrey. “Kiss the girl!”

Audrey’s eyes widened. Mal realized what that sounded like and stepped back. She rubbed the back of her neck. “That’s what we called Eric and Ariel’s whole thing back on the Isle. That he needed guidance from a singing crab. Like just take what you want. Kiss the girl.” 

“Yeah? Just take what you want?” Audrey smirked, and raised an eyebrow in challenge. This time, the princess leaned in close.“And how’s that been working for you?”

“It, uh,” Mal looked at Audrey’s lips. _Again_. “Gets results.” 

“Hmm,” Audrey kept smirking. “But to answer your question. My favorite painting is this next one.”

Audrey bought Mal into a room with the exhibit called _Victors_. She stopped in front of a large painting.

“Mulan? Not as predictable as the romantic ones, but still-”

“Come on. Why wouldn’t it be my favorite? Mulan wanted to save her father and ended up protecting her people. I like that. That women can be protectors.” There was a fire in Audrey’s voice. Intensity poured from her lips. “And the artist captured the rage that women aren’t supposed to have. Like Judith slaying Holofernes.”

The painting was of Mulan holding Shan Yu’s own sword against his throat atop the Imperial Palace roof. She was pressing just hard enough to break the skin. Mulan’s face was filled with fury and Shan Yu’s just had the slight hint of fear. The artist was talented with the strokes and color, but captured the feel of the scene. 

Audrey continued speaking and Mal listened, completely enthralled by the princess’s words. 

“And why wouldn’t she have rage? Someone just comes in and threatens to take everything. Destroys and ruins lives. That village was full of innocent people.” Audrey’s voice was sharp, cutting like a knife. “Danger should be dealt with. If anything threatened my kingdom, my home like that? I know I would be filled with rage too. I would do anything to keep my loved ones safe.”

Mal looked down at her boots. Audrey was telling her about how she’d do anything to save Auradon, and here she was trying to bring about Auradon’s downfall. 

“You know all about that, don’t you know that, Mal?” Audrey stared at Mal.

“What?” Mal’s eyes widened. 

Did Audrey figure her out?

“Any threat to you and yours and you’d take care of it,” Audrey grinned at her. “We’re a lot alike. We’d do anything to protect our loved ones. Whatever it takes.”

“I don’t know about that.” Mal chewed on the inside of her cheek.

“You try to play it off, but you care,” Audrey smirked, and traced a finger down Mal’s arm. “You went on this date with me after all. But you also care about your friends.”

“My friends?” Mal raised her eyebrow, confused.

“They’re more like your chosen family, I guess. You’re really bonded. You must have really been through a lot together.”

“We have.” Mal nodded slowly.

The four of them had been through so much back on the Isle.

“Maybe you’ll tell me about it sometime,” Audrey bit her lip unsurely. “When you’re ready. It must have been hard. Having Maleficent for a mother.” She tensed, then grabbed Mal’s hand. “Maybe we should go.”

Mal knew what someone looked like when they were being evasive. “You’re hiding something.”

“It’s pretty hard to hide,” Audrey sighed. The girl’s eyes flicked to a spot over Mal’s shoulder. It made Mal turn around to see. 

“Oh. The giant painting. Of my mom as a dragon. And your dad fighting her. It’s kinda hard to do since it takes up the whole wall.” Mal blew a breath out slowly, but her heart was beating fast. “I can see why you wouldn’t want me to see that.”

If Audrey wasn’t under the effects of a love spell, Mal would have accused the princess of setting this whole thing up. That she couldn’t wait to rub Maleficent’s defeat in Mal’s face. Mal balled up her fists. 

Or maybe she was just being paranoid. Or feeling the opposite of pride. Was it shame? Guilt? She shouldn’t feel rotten for doing what she had to do to get the wand. 

“I was always afraid of this painting when I was a kid.” Audrey put herself between Mal and the painting, as if to protect her. “The painter just has a way doesn’t she? Like you’re there. Like the flames are moving and burning into your eyes. You can feel the heat on your skin and smell the smoke as the black thorns are consumed by green fire.”

Mal could see that Audrey was shaking. Usually she would have basked in the other girl’s fear of Maleficent. But this was different. 

She didn't like seeing Audrey afraid.

“I’m sorry you had to see this. The history between our families-”

“Why? My mother did those things. Growing up here, I can see why you would be scared of Maleficent. People are scared of my mother.” 

“Are you scared of your mother?”

If Mal had to respond to the question, her answer would be complicated. The way Audrey shook while she was speaking of Maleficent was eerily similar to how Mal felt sometimes around her mother. Her mother was nice when she wanted something, but when Mal didn’t reach her expectations she got mean. 

If they didn’t get the wand...

“I just really want her to be proud of me.” Mal stepped around Audrey to get a closer look at the painting. “She gets so angry with me when I disappoint her. And she… Yeah, she’s my mom so I know she loves me. In her own way.”

Mal winced at how weak she sounded. She practically admitted it. She should have just said “ _Yes. I’m afraid of my mom._ ”

“Wow. I feel stupid. Here I am afraid of a painting when you had to grow up with the real thing.” Audrey’s face was tight. 

“It wasn’t so bad.” Mal could save face. “If it wasn’t for my mom, I wouldn’t have gotten close to Jay, Evie and Carlos.”

“That’s good at least.” Audrey smiled. “You have their backs, and they have yours.”

“It is. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

“I'm happy you have them. Speaking of your friends, we should go if we want to do everything I planned before I have to get you back to them.” 

“Oh yeah.” Mal found herself actually being excited at spending more time with the other girl. “There’s more. This was just part one.”

“That is if you’re not sick of me yet?” Audrey tilted her head to the side, with that challenging smirk that drove Mal wild.

“Hmm, I do feel warm. I might have a fever.” Mal touched her cheek.

“Let me see.” Audrey put the back of her hand on Mal’s forehead. “That’s just because you think I'm too hot.”

Mal felt her face go warm. And Audrey definitely felt it too. 

“That was lame!” Mal pouted. “That knocks you down to simply stunning.”

Audrey laughed. “You’re too cute. Just adorable.”

“No!” Mal groaned. “Adorable is for puppies and ducklings! I’m badass!”

“Badass adorable then. Pocket sized trouble.” Audrey brought her thumb and pointer finger together.

“Excuse me. We’re like the same height.” Mal got in close to Audrey, to move her hand from the top of her own head to the other girl’s.

Audrey dodged Mal’s hand, with a chuckle. She jogged ahead to get the door and held it open. “Okay we’re the same height. When you have on heeled boots and I’m in flats.”

Their back and forths were so much fun. Mal never would have guessed. Their first exchanging of words wasn’t a pleasant one. These were different. Mal wanted more words. She wanted more time. 

But Coronation was fast approaching.

Mal and her friends would grab the wand. They would free their parents. They would take over Auradon.

And she wouldn’t need Audrey any more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mal is good at lying if it's lying to herself. 
> 
> I like to think of Auradon City like Washington, DC for reasons. Okay one of those reasons is because I love living there when I get to. The National Portrait Gallery for reals. 
> 
> Audrey is talking about [these pieces of fanart.](https://laughingsquid.com/happy-endings-art-series-imagines-disney-movie-villains-winning/) This is the only site I could find with the artist's name. 
> 
> _Judith Slaying Holofernes_ by Artemisia Gentileschi is the inspiration for Audrey's favorite painting.
> 
> When Audrey accused Mal of thinking she was too hot. It made me go "Hot damn. Make a dragon wanna retire, man." And I was like :O Mal is a _dragon_ Is she gonna retire, man? Thanks, Bruno Mars.
> 
> Let me know what you think or if you have any theories. I love hearing from y'all.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal and Audrey get the best burgers in the Kingdom. They talk. There's guilt and regrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes! Thanks for all the views and comments, guys.
> 
> I hope everyone had great holidays and that everyone is staying safe out there.

They were back in Audrey’s car on the way to the next part of the date she had planned. Music filled the car. Audrey’s taste in music was interesting. And all over the place. But everything was upbeat and about looking so crazy in love. Or believing in a thing called love. How being in love was like walking on sunshine or heaven being a place on earth.

She watched Audrey sing along, about wanting to dance with somebody. 

Love made Mal uneasy. Was it as simple as the songs made it seem? 

Evie seemed to have it all figured out. She had been excited to find love with a prince when they had first arrived in Auradon. That’s all Evie had to do for her mother to be proud of her. 

But still Mal didn’t want to see Evie hurt. She had grown fond of the other girl.

“Ben is your ex. He’ll treat Evie right?” Mal asked slowly. 

“Ben is one of my oldest friends. He’s a sweetheart,” Audrey soothed, not taking her eyes off the road. “He’ll treat her like she deserves. Like a princess.”

“I only ask because her experiences with guys here in Auradon so far has been,” Mal paused. She wanted to say it was shit. But she censored herself for Audrey’s benefit. “Lacking. Doug admitted to stalking her and Chad made her do his homework.”

“They what?” Audrey screeched, the disgust clear in her voice.

“Right? That’s some Isle behavior if you ask me. But Evie is… mine. So I’m only looking after her,” Mal tried to explain to the princess. 

“You’re right. It’s not good. I’ll talk to them about it. Evie shouldn’t get stuck in the middle.” Audrey’s brows furrowed. She sighed, making Mal wonder what the other girl was thinking. “But no. You don’t have to worry about Ben. He actually asked me for advice on his date with Evie. Like if he should take her on a picnic by the Enchanted Lake. And I told him he definitely had to do that.”

“That sounds... sweet.” Mal thought that’s what people in Auradon would say. 

“Knowing Ben he’ll probably try to impress her by jumping off the rock formation by the lake. It’s pretty high up. I’ve made that jump a few times. But boys think they’re so tough. Please,” Audrey scoffed. “Gravity is doing all the work.” 

“Wait.” Mal’s eyes widened. “Jump into the _water_?”

“I mean you could jump off it into the ground but that would be pretty painful,” Audrey said dryly. 

“No. I mean, Evie can’t swim!” Mal panicked. “None of us can. Well, Carlos can doggie paddle but-”

“But you lived on an island.” Audrey raised an eyebrow.

“It’s this whole thing.” Mal waved her hand wildly. “I won’t get into, involving control of territories and killer crocs…”

“Okay. I didn’t know. There’s a lot I don’t know about the Isle apparently,” Audrey murmured. “We’ll call him.”

“Should I get your phone out or…?” Mal reached for Audrey’s purse.

“No need. The phone is paired with the car’s bluetooth. Hands free calling, like a speaker phone. Safety first. Call Ben,” Audrey announced.

The music stopped and the sound of ringing came out of the speakers.

“Audrey?” Ben’s voice replaced the ringing. 

“Hey. Sorry to interrupt your date, Loverboy, but Mal is worried about Evie. She can’t swim so don’t do anything stupid,” Audrey warned Ben.

“About that,” Ben winced.

“Oh, you _already_ did the stupid thing.” Audrey shook her head.

“Well, I didn’t know she couldn’t swim,” Ben spoke slowly. “When I dived into the lake, I wanted to surprise her and held my breath. She got worried and came in after me. To save me.”

“That was brave of her. Is she okay?” Audrey glanced at Mal.

“Yeah. I mean she’s in wet clothes. But other than that.” Mal could practically hear Ben rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly through the phone. _Good._ He better feel bad.

“Can I talk to Evie? How do I do this?” Mal pointed at the car stereo.

“You’re good. Just talk. Loudly and clearly. Did you hear that Ben? You’re in trouble,” Audrey laughed. “Put Evie on.” 

“Mal?” That was Evie.

“Evie? Are you okay!” Mal leaned forward in the passenger seat.

“Ben jumped into the lake and when he didn’t come back up for air like I thought he would, I panicked and jumped into the lake after him. He could have hit his head and drowned.” There was an edge to Evie’s voice. Water was a punishment on the Isle. 

“I heard. And I’m going to kill him,” Mal growled.

“And I’ll help you,” Audrey offered. 

Ben made a choking noise. So they were on speaker phone too. _Good._

“I ruined our date,” Evie whimpered. 

“No, Evie. You didn’t. I did,” Ben consoled.

“Yeah, Evie. Ben ruined your date.” Mal agreed, filled with annoyance that was close to becoming anger.

“Could ruin ours too,” Audrey sighed. “Do you want me to go pick Evie up?”

“No, Mal. Tell Audrey that she's sweet. You two finish your date,” Evie pleaded.

“Oh, Audrey already knows she’s sweet. She doesn’t need the ego boost. But you’re sure? We can get you.” Mal looked over at Audrey, who nodded. It meant a lot to her that Audrey offered to get Evie. And to commit regicide. 

“I’m sure. Ben is going to make it up to me,” Evie giggled.

“He better,” Mal’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll see you back at the dorm?”

“Yeah. You’ll have to tell me all about your date.” Evie was probably grinning widely.

Mal choked, much like Ben had. She hated speaker phones.

“Don’t worry, Evie. I’ll have her back to you in time for you to stay up all night talking about me. And Ben, I guess.” Audrey winked at Mal.

“Thanks, Audrey. Bye, Mal. Have fun you two.” Evie was definitely grinning widely.

“Oh we will,” Audrey smirked. 

It was decided. Audrey and Evie were never allowed to hang out with each other. Combined, they would lead Mal to an early grave. The trouble those two would cause her. Unbearable. 

“Bye, Evie!” Mal said, hoping the other Isle girl would catch on to the warning to end the conversation.

The call ended.

“If I knew that none of you could swim, I wouldn’t have let Ben go with a date by the lake.” Audrey looked over at Mal. “I’m glad Evie is okay.”

“Me, too. And there’s a lot I don’t know about Auradon.”

“We’re both still learning about each other’s worlds. And each other. The more I learn about you, the more I realize how wrong I was about you.” Audrey flashed her a smile.

Mal dipped her head. She hoped Audrey would think she was just being bashful. Audrey was right about her. It was just the love spell making her say that.

“I was wrong about you too.”

Mal could feel Audrey’s eyes on her. She couldn’t look. She couldn’t stand to see Audrey smiling back at her. 

“Oh, wow.” Audrey pulled the car alongside the curb and stopped. “Doesn’t look too crowded. We got lucky. We shouldn’t have to wait too long for a table. Got a great parking spot too.”

Mal finally looked up to see where Audrey had taken them. They got out of the car.

The street they were on was crowded with little shops, each building packed next to each other. It reminded Mal of the Isle in that aspect, but none of the windows were broken and the bricks weren’t crumbling. The paint wasn’t chipped. None of the shops’ letters were missing. There wasn’t any grime on every surface or trash on the street. The people walking around outside were laughing and smiling, instead of growling and scowling.

“We’re going there.” 

The building Audrey pointed at had a sign that read _Cookie and Ruth’s_ in silver letters on an orange background. 

“Don’t worry. His niece is a better cook than him.” Audrey walked on ahead.

“Who? Wait!” Mal jogged ahead of Audrey to get to the door first. She held it open for her. “After you.”

Audrey just laughed as she passed Mal, shaking her head fully amused. “Thank you.”

“Good evening!” A girl a little older than them greeted them. She was standing behind a podium, wearing a black shirt with _Cookie and Ruth’s_ written on it and an apron over her dark jeans.

“Hi! Good evening.” Audrey returned pleasantly.

“Table for two?” The girl held up two fingers.

“Yes, please.” 

“And you’re willing to wait?” The girl nodded along. 

Audrey glanced at Mal, with her flirty dangerous smirk. “However long it takes.”

Mal dipped her head. Not even Jay would have been able to pull that line off.

“Uh, okay. It shouldn’t be too long. Just have a seat and we’ll come get you when your table is ready.” The girl nodded towards a soft looking bench along the wall.

“Thank you.”

Audrey gestured towards the bench, letting Mal have a seat before her. “And to answer your question. Mr. Farnsworth. He was the cook on the Thatch Expedition. But the other members of the team would say that “cook” would be doing a lot of heavy lifting when it came to him. I did a report on the Expedition in 8th grade. I thought it was so amazing that a Hero had the same name as me. And for a girl to be into fixing up cars and motorcycles. But my grandmother hated that I idolized Audrey Ramirez instead of Snow White.”

“So if you’re named Audrey then you’re awesome. Got it.” Mal didn’t know how to touch that comment about Queen Leah. So she changed the subject. “And now I know what you’re talking about. Mr. Crystal. That guy is always raving that it should be The _Rourke Expedition _.” She used air quotes. “No one listens to him because he got killed by a balloon. But Sinclair is cool. She survived that fall long enough to get her revenge and take Crystal out with her. She’s highly respected for that. Though not as much as if she wasn’t Evil for pay.”__

__“That’s interesting. The hierarchy on the Isle, I mean.” Audrey nodded thoughtfully. “I bet your mom is at the top then.”_ _

__“You’d win that bet.” Mal pursed her lips._ _

__“I should have set the terms. I could have won something good,” Audrey joked._ _

__Mal didn’t want to think about her mother though. She looked away._ _

__Audrey picked up on it. “What’s wrong?”_ _

__“Just that,” Mal quickly covered, waving her hand at their surroundings. “I just wouldn’t have imagined a girl like you in a place like this.”_ _

__The interior of the diner was worn, but from being loved instead of falling apart because of lack of resources or carelessness. It was taken care of because it was obviously a popular place to eat. The walls were orange, which added to the charm and welcoming warmth. The other diners already seated and enjoying their meals were talking animatedly. Half of the space was taken up by a dining counter with round stools, and behind that was a grill, a little ways down there was a kitchen proper. Above the grill were signs with menu items listed. This place was several steps above the Slop Shop, back on the Isle, which was barely a building and seemed like it would collapse at any time. But then this place seemed beneath Princess Audrey, who usually looked like she belonged in some curated restaurants where the menu was in another language and the servers wore suits and ties._ _

__“I’m all about making you comfortable.” Audrey waved it off. “Something low key where we can get to know each other. Plus this place has the best burgers and milkshakes in all of Auradon.”_ _

__“We’re ready for you! Let me show you to your table.” The hostess grabbed two menus and brought them to a booth. “Here, we are. Your server will be with you shortly.”_ _

__“So do you come here a lot?” Mal couldn’t help but keep looking around now that they were seated. She eyed the door and memorized the path to it. She took in who was around her. No one was paying any attention to them, more focused on their own meals. Mal relaxed slightly._ _

__“I would come here with my dad when I was younger. Before my grandmother,” Audrey pressed her lips into a thin line. It was almost a frown, but not quite. “Insisted on proper princess behavior. And I wanted to make everyone proud of me so…”_ _

__“Even more stuff you had to give up.” Mal thought back to what Audrey said back at the museum. “What’s that at now? Fencing, cars, relationships you wanted versus what was expected of you.”_ _

__Audrey had distanced herself from Lonnie, just like Mal had with Uma._ _

__“I mean, you do what you have to do to live up to the family name,” Audrey said tightly._ _

__Wasn’t that the unfortunate truth?_ _

__“I do enjoy good food but a princess shouldn’t enjoy food. A taste and that’s all. Eat to live instead of live to eat.” Audrey fiddled around with her fork._ _

__“That sounds like something Evie’s mom would tell her.” Mal pursed her lips._ _

__“It’s unfortunate how much my grandmother and the Evil Queen have in common. I think Evie and I would get along well,” Audrey mused aloud._ _

__“You and I have a lot in common too!” Mal blurted out._ _

__“We do, don’t we?” Audrey bit her lip. She nodded towards the menu. “We should probably figure out what we’re going to get?”_ _

__“Yeah.” Mal opened the menu and looked through it. She was overwhelmed by all the choices. Not that she was familiar with much of anything listed. She bit her lip, and looked up at Audrey, who was watching her._ _

__“See anything you like?” Audrey asked._ _

__“I was going to ask you the same thing.” Mal smirked, finally able to tease the princess after catching her staring._ _

__“I do.” Audrey leaned forward on the table, licking her lips._ _

__Mal shivered. “You, uh. You said that the burgers were good here? And the milkshakes?”_ _

__The dining hall had hamburgers and cheeseburgers. She remembered seeing some other students with them now that she could put a name to the pictures. The burgers here seemed more… creative. With different types of cheese. The only type of cheese she knew about was moldy. She didn’t know if they had milkshakes at Auradon Prep, but why wouldn’t they? Seemed like they had everything they could ever ask for._ _

__“I said they were the best in all of Auradon. But honestly everything is good here. My dad loves the corned beef sandwich with melted Swiss cheese on Rye with mustard, they named it after him here since he orders it so much,” Audrey giggled. Mal looked at the sandwiches, and indeed there was a sandwich called the Prince Philip. “Breakfast is great here too. The Dining Hall has great chefs, but it just tastes differently here. I can’t explain it.”_ _

__“What are you getting?”_ _

__“Just a cheeseburger and fries. The Classic. The Brie and avocado one is divine though. Or the one with peanut butter.”_ _

__“I’ll think I’ll go with The Classic this time. We have to come back for those ones you said though. What about the milkshake?” Mal closed the menu._ _

__“We can get a strawberry milkshake and a chocolate milkshake. You can try each one and see which one you like. I’ll take whatever you don’t want.”_ _

__“Hey there, folks. My name is Sarah,” the girl introduced herself after approaching their table. “I’ll be your server today. Are you ready to order or do you need more time?”_ _

__“Could we get two Classic cheeseburgers? One with lettuce, tomatoes, and onions.” Audrey glanced at Mal, then back at Sarah the Server. “And the other one with the fixings on the side, please?”_ _

__“Yeah, we can do that.” Sarah the Server wrote their order on her notepad. “And to drink?”_ _

__“One strawberry milkshake and one chocolate milkshake. That’ll be it for now. Thank you, Sarah.” Audrey took Mal’s menu and stacked it on top of hers. She handed both to Sarah._ _

__“Thanks,” Mal followed Audrey’s lead._ _

__“Love the hair, by the way.” Sarah shook her pen toward Mal._ _

__“Grew it myself.” Mal mentally slapped herself._ _

__Audrey snorted back a laugh, and turned it into a cough._ _

__“Nice.” Sarah said, in the way someone was trying not to laugh. “I’ll put your order in and bring your food out as soon as everything is ready.”_ _

__Once Sarah the Server was gone, Audrey burst out laughing. “Wow. Luckily, she thought you were making a joke. A dad one, but still a joke.”_ _

__“I panicked.” Mal covered her face with her hands._ _

__“That’s how people talk here in Auradon. To be polite. Although I think she wanted to ask you where you got your hair done. Maybe tell her you do hair,” Audrey fiddled with her own hair. The pink princess had been one of the few students to not ask for a hair spell. Mal wondered about that. “Get yourself another customer.”_ _

__“Magic has nothing on you.” Mal blurted out. “I mean… How can I improve upon perfection?”_ _

__Audrey gave her a crooked smile, her jaw jutted forward slightly. The expression was different from Audrey’s smirk, but Mal found it no less intoxicating._ _

__“You’re getting better at giving compliments.”_ _

__“I think making my brain break is a compliment,” Mal offered._ _

__“Hmm. That is true.” Audrey looked absolutely pleased at Mal’s words. “A little unfair to you though, no? I promise not to use my powers for evil.”_ _

__“You sure? We could rule the world together,” Mal said without thinking. From anyone else, it would be a harmless joke. But from the daughter of Maleficent, it could have been an offer._ _

__And to Mal it was an intrusion, ruining her date with Audrey, the daughter of Sleeping Beauty. A reminder of the reality that they weren’t just two girls having fun. Mal was actively going against Auradon. She didn’t want to think about what would happen to Audrey, to everyone when her mother came into power._ _

__“Maybe,” Audrey drawled, studying her, head tilted. “I’ll use my brain breaking beauty to my advantage. Even more than I do now, of course. I could get some laws passed.”_ _

__Mal was relieved her stupid joke didn’t offend Audrey. But that was probably the love spell making her think everything Mal said was the funniest, most clever thing to be ever said by anyone ever._ _

__“Too late for them to realize that you’re not just a gorgeous face. I like it.” Mal grinned. She found it so fascinating when someone raised by Heroes could be so Isle-like._ _

__Audrey gave her a small smile._ _

__Auradon and the Isle had their differences. But they were the same at times._ _

__Except for social situations. Mal couldn’t navigate those just yet._ _

__“Wait. I wanted to ask something. About something you said earlier,” Mal tried to remember what the phrase was. “What’s a dad joke?”_ _

__“Oh, right.” Audrey relaxed, letting out a relieved puff. “Just the type of horrible humor that’s so bad it’s funny that dad’s have. It’s mostly to annoy and embarrass their kids. My dad loves the one that goes “Why couldn't the bicycle stand up by itself?” She paused. “It was two tired.”_ _

__Mal laughed. “That is horrible. But I get what you mean. “Why is the cemetery always so crowded? Because everyone is dying to get in.”_ _

__Audrey groaned._ _

__Her own dad would always do that one and pretty much got the same reaction from her that Audrey had. Of course, her father wasn’t as involved in her life as Audrey’s father seemed to be._ _

__“I think I’m funnier than that,” Mal pouted._ _

__“You are very entertaining. Yes.” Audrey gave her a look of fondness. “Unintentionally though.”_ _

__“Ouch,” Mal gasped playfully. “Rude.”_ _

__Sarah the Server brought out the milkshakes. They were in tall glasses. One was brown which was chocolate and the pink one had to be strawberry. A red thing was handing on the rim of the glass. She set them down on the table. She gave them some straws._ _

__“Your burgers should be ready soon,” Sarah said brightly._ _

__They thanked her again._ _

__“This is strawberry?” Mal looked at the glass with the pink inside it. “It’s pink. Makes me think of you. Even if it's not your favorite color.”_ _

__“Yes. Strawberry ice cream is pink. But strawberries are red.” Audrey nodded at the red thing on the rim. “Try it. They usually garnish the strawberry shakes with fresh strawberries. The chocolate ones get chocolate shavings.”_ _

__Mal picked the strawberry off the rim of the glass. She took a bite. Her eyes widened at the taste. “Mmmm.” She finished off the rest of the fruit off quickly._ _

__“Did you still want to try the chocolate shake or are you ready to marry strawberries?” Audrey teased._ _

__“I’ve never had strawberries before,” Mal grinned sheepishly. “They’re good.”_ _

__“A lot of things in Auradon are,” Audrey winked. “Wait until you try the burgers.”_ _

__That’s when Sarah showed up with their burgers, as if summoned by Audrey’s words._ _

__“Enjoy your food, guys!”_ _

__Mal eyed her plate. She was out of her depths._ _

__“I never thought about what it must be like to try something for the first time. I just do it. Like I’ve had the privilege of trying food from the different kingdoms in Auradon. To explore.” Audrey tilted her head, thoughtful. “But you should have seen Lonnie teaching me to use chopsticks for the first time.”_ _

__“How should I show the respect the best burgers deserves?” Mal joked._ _

__“So there’s been many a debate on the correct way to eat a burger. I like to have lettuce, tomato, and onion. No ketchup though. I didn’t know what you’d like so I had them bring it on the side. And oh the fries. Pouring ketchup directly on top or putting it on the side. Mixing ketchup with mayonnaise. Like I usually don’t dip my fries in ketchup, let alone drench them in the stuff. But my friends judge me for dipping my fries into my shake.” Audrey lit up. “Ooo, I can convert you to my _side_.”_ _

__Audrey picked up a fry and dipped it into her own shake. She held the fry out to Mal._ _

__Mal felt the back of her neck warm up at Audrey’s action. Should she take the fry into her mouth from the other girl’s fingers? That felt too intimate. She picked the fry up between her thumb and forefinger trying to ignore the image that had entered her head of Audrey feeding her strawberries by hand._ _

__“It’s good right?” Audrey asked after Mal had tried the combination._ _

__“I like it.” Mal nodded slowly._ _

__“Salty and sweet is a great mix. Like you.” Audrey dragged her teeth along her bottom lip._ _

__“If you’re willing to fight your friends on it.” Mal dipped her head. “Then I’m flattered.”_ _

__“Well, now that you’ve agreed with me. I’m gonna get you on my side for all food debates. Pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza, Ben.” Audrey made a fake gagging noise._ _

__“I don’t even know what a pineapple is.” Mal shrugged._ _

__Mal assembled her cheeseburger slowly, taking a bite for each combination. She didn’t like tomatoes. But she liked the kick of the onions. They continued to talk while they ate._ _

__Evie had prepped Mal about what to do during her date with Mal. It sounded like advice from the Evil Queen. To just let the prince talk about himself. But she really did like hearing more about Audrey._ _

__“So what are your hobbies?” Mal asked earnestly._ _

__“I do sketches. Nothing special. Not like you,” Audrey paused to think, tapping a finger on her chin. “I sing and dance after taking formal lessons growing up. I was in the school production of _Into the Woods._ It’s a musical with some of the stories of the heroes. I was Cinderella.”_ _

__“Cheer captain, artist, singer, actress. Is there anything you can’t do?”_ _

__“Well, a princess is meant to be well rounded. I’m supposed to do a lot.” Audrey folded her hands in her lap, shoulders squared and sitting up straight._ _

__“I was right. It does sound like a lot of work. You make it look easy.”_ _

__“Thank you,” Audrey said tightly. Seemed like Mal wasn’t the only one avoiding things. “But what about you? I know you paint and I’ve seen you drawing in a sketchbook. What did you guys do for fun?”_ _

__“Breaking and entering,” Mal deadpanned._ _

__“Yeah?” Audrey perked up at that._ _

__“Jay taught me,” Mal said proudly, taking Audrey’s interest as permission to continue. “Picking pockets is easier. But planning a heist is a challenge. So many moving parts. Studying your mark. Finding an in. Then going for what you want to steal. The escape is where everyone trips up. But we’ve never been caught.”_ _

__“What’s the most interesting thing you’ve stolen?” Audrey leaned forward in her seat._ _

__“Well, things like crowns and jewelry obviously. Once we took Frollo’s hat. But the moustaches would have to be the most interesting thing.” Mal grinned at the memory._ _

__“Moustaches?” Audrey raised an eyebrow, demanding an explanation in one look._ _

__“Yeah. We broke into some lairs and shaved some people. Captain Hook, Clayton, Ratcliff. It was funny. They were so mad.” Mal doubled over, barely getting through her story without cracking up._ _

__“I wish I could have seen that.” Audrey joined in with the laughter._ _

__“Might have to do another heist here in Auradon.” Mal caught her breath._ _

__“Yeah? But you’ve already stolen something here in Auradon.” Audrey stared Mal down._ _

__“What. No!” Mal’s eyes widened in shock. Technically they hadn’t stolen anything yet. It was still a work in progress._ _

__“Yeah you have. My heart,” Audrey teased, putting a hand to her chest dramatically._ _

__“That was lame.” Mal threw a fry at her, but she still laughed. Then she remembered Audrey wasn’t joking. She was under a love spell. Mal looked down at the table. Everything had been great from the food to the conversation to the company. It was easy to forget this wasn’t real._ _

__But her guilt trip was interrupted by Sarah the Server arriving at their table._ _

__“I have your check for you.” Sarah handed Audrey a small black folder. “You folks go to Auradon Prep, right?”_ _

__“Is it that painfully obvious?” Audrey smiled, completely amused._ _

__“Well, Princess. Your picture is on the wall with your dad.” Sarah turned to Mal. “And you must be one of the new students from… across the bay. It was in the news.”_ _

__“She is.” Audrey’s eyes narrowed._ _

__“Hey,” she nodded and introduced herself. “I’m Mal.”_ _

__“Hi, Mal. Just wanted to welcome you to Auradon.” Sarah clapped her hands together. Then she leaned forward a bit. “And invite you and your friends to a party. Get away from those snobs at AP. Princess here knows what I mean. I’ve seen you and your boyfriend at our shows a couple of times.”_ _

__“Ex-boyfriend.” Audrey’s tone was friendly, but barely. There was a warning there, but Mal didn’t know what it was._ _

__“Oh.” Sarah held her hands up. “Well, congrats on the upgrade.”_ _

__Audrey smiled genuinely this time. “Thank you. But I think it all depends on her. And thank you.” She took a plastic rectangle out of her wallet, slipped it into the black folder and handed it to Sarah. “For that.”_ _

__“No problem.” Sarah held up the little black folder. “I’ll get this back to you in a bit.”_ _

__“I can get us next time.” Mal thought credit and debit cards were a strange concept. Jay hated them since it meant sometimes the kids he pickpocketed wouldn’t have much cash on them. “Ben says we’ll be getting bank accounts for our… He said a stipend. I mean everything else is covered.”_ _

__“We should work on getting you phones too,” Audrey hummed._ _

__“Yeah. And maybe I could use it to ask you want to go to one of these shows with me? Uh, us? Like me and Jay and Carlos and Evie. Also, Ben I guess,” Mal added awkwardly if Audrey didn’t want to go out with her again. But she remembered it was an unnecessary save._ _

__Audrey would go anywhere with Mal._ _

__“Of course. Whatever you want. You know Doug. He’s in a band. They’re pretty good. Their cover of _Love Train_ is interesting. We’d go out to support Doug. And you know, support Chad. It’s nice to pretend to be normal teenagers sometimes. Even though we have to also pretend there isn’t a security detail watching Ben.” Audrey tilted her head thoughtfully. “Actually, that sounds like a good idea. You all have just been stuck on campus this whole time. We should have some trips so you can see why Auradon really is worth it.”_ _

__“I’d like that.” Mal bit the inside of her cheek._ _

__Auradon was worth it. All the comfort it offered. There was enough food to eat, food that wasn’t rotten. Jay didn’t have to steal for his father. Carlos didn’t have to be under his abusive mother’s roof. Evie wasn’t her mother’s doll. None of them had to be their parents’ servants. They were safe here. As long as their parents weren’t free to ruin it all._ _

__She felt safe with Audrey._ _

__Audrey was worth it._ _

__Mal should tell her everything. She wanted to._ _

__“Audrey, I-”_ _

__“Here you go!” Sarah came back with Audrey’s card._ _

__Audrey thanked her as she signed the receipt._ _

__“Hope you can come out, guys.” Sarah took the receipt._ _

__“Of course.” Audrey grinned._ _

__“Sounds like a party.” Mal offered. She didn’t know what else to say._ _

__“Ready?” Audrey stood up and offered her hand to help Mal up._ _

__Mal wasn’t ready. It was all right there. All she had to do was reach out. Audrey trusted her enough to share little secrets with her, those hidden bits and pieces. Audrey would help them-_ _

__But it wasn’t real._ _

__Audrey didn’t trust her. It was the love spell._ _

__Audrey didn’t want to spend time with her. It was the love spell._ _

__Audrey didn’t want to be alone with her. It was the love spell._ _

__Audrey hated her._ _

__Audrey hated her before the love spell. She would go back to hating her when it was broken._ _

__Mal took Audrey’s hand, but looked away._ _

__“So we can go back now or I can show you one more thing?”Audrey asked in a moment of rare shyness._ _

__“I don’t want this to end,” Mal answered truthfully._ _

__Anything to keep this alive._ _

__Anything to pretend that she and Audrey weren’t on opposite sides. They could just be two normal teenagers just for one day._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all!
> 
> The songs from Audrey's playlist Mal said Audrey was singing to: _I Believe In A Thing Called Love_ cover by Branches, _Walking On Sunshine_ by Katrina and the Waves, _Heaven Is a Place on Earth_ by Belinda Carlisle, and _I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)_ by Whitney Houston. 
> 
> Cookie and Ruth's is based on Chick and Ruth's in Annapolis, MD. But of course, Jebidiah Allardyce "Cookie" Farnsworth, Audrey Rocio Ramirez, Lieutenant Helga Katrina Sinclair, and Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke are from _Atlantis: The Lost Empire_.
> 
> Audrey can't agree with me on everything, so she doesn't think pineapple belongs on pizza. I guess she's normal. 
> 
> The songs I was listening to when I was stuck writing that last scene where Mal is feeling guilt and regret: _when the party's over_ by Billie Eilish, _You Could Have It All_ Yo La Tengo, and _Looking Too Closely_ by Fink, the last one which made me tear up when I was writing how Mal thought about how Audrey hated her with out the love spell. Oh, Mal.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thorn makes a plan with Carlos and Evie. Mask off, but she's still holding back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back with Thorn's POV.
> 
> **TRIGGER WARNING** for hints at self-harm. Nothing super explicit.
> 
> Thank you to everyone reading and reviewing.

Thorn was still with Carlos in his dorm room. They were playing some dancing video game she remembered loving when it came out. Carlos was winning, but that didn’t matter since she was having so much fun. It was such a nice break from everything she had to deal with. Carlos enjoying himself and getting a chance to be a kid was so much for her. For Thorn, he hadn’t been so carefree ever since Coronation in her time.

There was a knock at the door.

Thorn sighed and hid under Carlos’s bed since it was closest.

“Evie. It’s just you.” Carlos said after opening the door.

Evie _would_ knock. The Evil was about manners and etiquette to fit in society. Being impolite was a greater sin than poisoning a stepdaughter or leaving children to starve. Thorn had assumed it was someone from Auradon since they did things like knock. 

Except for Lonnie. Her old friend just jumped into everything with little caution. That’s how they lost her. 

“Mal isn’t back from her date with Audrey yet? It must be going well,” Evie gushed happily.

“Weird, right?”

“I honestly thought Mal would have ran away by now. So this is huge! I knew she was interested in Audrey because she talked about her almost as much as she talked about the wand. The only other thing she talks about just as much is our mystery stranger in the mask. Who isn’t such a mystery,” Evie giggled.

Thorn crawled out from under the bed. Evie was sitting on Carlos’s bed, her back turned. Carlos noticed her, but didn’t do anything to alert Evie to her presence.

“Not a mystery, huh?” Thorn leaned in next to Evie.

Evie screamed at hearing Thorn being suddenly so close. She smacked her on the arm. Carlos laughed, and then Evie joined him. Thorn’s heart ached at seeing them like this. 

“You guys are both so horrible.” Evie shook her head, a smile on her face for Carlos. “You’ve just been hanging out the whole time?”

“Yeah. I got to ride her motorcycle. We grabbed donuts. She ordered us pizza. And I kicked her butt at every video game!” Carlos grinned widely.

“That’s great. How’d you pay for it?” Evie raised an eyebrow, looking ready to scold them if she didn’t like the answer.

“The Bank of Chad Charming.” Thorn shrugged. 

“Thorn’s been skimming money from some of the Royals,” Carlos said with something like awe and admiration in his voice. 

“Chad won't notice. Ben will but he won't mind. And is it really stealing if I'm taking from myself? Plus it's more like borrowing anyway.” Thorn flopped down on the bed next to Evie, only half on with her boots still on the ground.

“Speaking of “borrowing”, Jay isn’t here?” Evie looked around the room.

“No, he’s with Lonnie. He did drop by earlier to check in with me. And I told him to spend time with her,” Carlos shook his head, frowning.

“Jay and Lonnie? Maybe Lonnie will invite him to Coronation and we’ll all be closer to the wand.” Evie nodded. Her expression didn’t match her words. She seemed sad.

“You don’t have to go after the wand.” Thorn sat up. She put hand on Evie’s shoulder.

“And what would you know?” Evie’s voice had an edge to it. But Thorn knew it was from fear of their parents.

“That you like it here. You like Ben,” Thorn said firmly.

“Our parents-”

“Aren’t here.” Thorn leapt to her feet. “Your parents hurt you. You’re afraid of them. And you’re afraid of Maleficent. And I know what Maleficent is capable of,” she gritted out through clenched teeth.

Thorn pulled her mask up like the visor of a helm into her hood. Then pulled her hood back. She stood chin up and head held high, completely facing Carlos and Evie.

Carlos swore and Evie gasped. The other girl reached a hand out to her face. Thorn turned away. She exhaled slowly.

“At the Coronation, the wand destroyed the Barrier just long enough for Maleficent to escape. The first thing she did was come after me and my family.”

“Audrey.” Evie covered her mouth with her hands in shock.

“That’s not me. Not anymore.” Thorn swallowed her self-loathing. Her scars and failures. It wouldn’t help anyone. “Do you understand now?”

“Audrey, _Thorn_ ,” Evie corrected herself. “I’m sorry.”

“This is nothing.” Thorn pointed at her face. “Everyone else,” she choked on her words. She couldn’t tell them. “I’m here now. That’s what matters.”

“Knowing it’s you and seeing you with the mask all the way off are two very different things.” Carlos’s eyes were wide and his hand was on his forehead. “Shit. I mean I guess it makes sense why you didn't take your mask off while we were eating.”

“Carlos!”

“I didn't mean it like that,” Carlos winced. “I mean she wanted to be dramatic and wait for you to come back. Not that you’re gross to look at.”

Thorn roared with laughter. “Wow. I needed that. I do have a flair for the dramatic. Always have.”

“So what’s the plan?” Carlos crossed his arms over his chest. 

Thorn didn’t say anything.

“You don’t have a plan.” Carlos’s eyes widened.

“Beyond getting back here? No. There wasn’t enough time.” Thorn shook her head.

“You time traveled! All you have is time!” Carlos flung his hand out in exasperation. 

Carlos yelling at her, Thorn was used to it. But this was born out of panic. And carried none of that blame or venom. But like always Thorn took his words heavily. 

“It was a one time thing,” Thorn explained, slowly to keep herself steady. The sacrifice made to come back was too high a cost. “And we were in a bit of a rush. Me being here was the last option. There was no other way.”

“You’re just as bad at planning as Mal.” Carlos took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re good. Don’t worry.”

“That’s why you came to us. For help.” Evie jumped in.

“Well,” Thorn grinned. “You guys figured out who I was behind the mask.”

“It wasn’t that hard. _Thorn_? Come on.” Evie raised a very unimpressed eyebrow. 

“I panicked.” Thorn laughed. She missed getting roasted by her friends. “In my defense it was an alias I used but no one ever questioned it before. So congrats on being smarter than most patrol guards.”

“You had had a whole plan to go back in time, but you didn’t come up with a fake name?” Carlos scrunched his face up.

“Yeah, yeah. Now you see why I could use your help. I plan too much and miss out on the little details.” Thorn groaned. 

“And I mean I’ve read a book before. Even if pages were missing. It’s like your classic tale! Far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise!” Evie dramatically swooned. “Well, a princess in disguise.” she winked. 

“While I over-thought it. Wrong genre savvy.” Carlos laughed as he shook his head. “Dude helped though.”

They all looked at the napping dog. 

“So what are we going to do?” Carlos asked the obvious question.

“We can tell Ben! He’ll-”

“He’s currently under a love spell. He also isn’t the king. Adam is,” Thorn shut Evie down gently. “And time travel is frowned upon. Ever since Lady Tremaine tried it. And especially with who helped me come back. It’s so stupid. Not to mention knowing why I came back would screw over all the kids still back on the Isle. They’d see you all as threats to Auradon. I can’t risk it.”

Carlos sat next to Evie on the bed. He wrapped an arm around her, to comfort the both of them. Thorn blamed herself for upsetting them. Even if they had grown up on the Isle and thus used to cruelty and neglect, they were still kids.

“I have to play it just right. Maleficent can’t leave the Isle. But those kids don’t deserve to be there. This is how it has to be.” Her words were firm and final.

It was a twisted game to play. Thorn had been raised for political maneuvering. She knew what pieces to move and when. She knew about manipulations and behaviors, making it easy to get people to give her what she wanted. She knew the people of Auradon would never accept the children of Villains until the children could do something for them. And she hated it. They would have to save Auradon itself to be adored. No simple task.

But here they were saving everyone and Auradon wouldn’t even know.

“Telling anyone would get the program shut down and they wouldn’t bring over any more kids.” Carlos nodded. 

“Got it in one. Not only that, but they'd close the Barrier for good. ” Thorn laid down on the floor with her arms behind her head. “It’s kinda a relief to tell someone. To have people helping me. We always were a great team.”

Thorn grimaced at her slip. These weren’t her Carlos and Evie. That much was apparent with Carlos enjoying her presence rather than just tolerating it and having Evie speaking at all. 

“Will you tell us what happened?” Evie asked softly, like she was afraid of the answers.

“It doesn’t matter. If I pull it off, then you’ll never have to find out. If I fail, you’ll find out.” Thorn shook her head. “But I won’t fail.”

“You’re so different from her.” Carlos seemed to realize he had said that out loud since he winced.

“Because I don’t have a stick up my ass,” Thorn chuckled. “You’re taking this better than I expected.”

“I mean magic exists.” Carlos waved his free hand dismissively. “I’m more freaked out over everything being so bad that you had to come back.”

“Why don’t you just tell Mal the truth?” Evie pointed out. “It would be easier.”

“It would,” Thorn sighed. “If Mal wanted to hear it. But Mal wants something her mother will never give her.”

“I also guess if you told her, she would think you were tricking her. Mal doesn’t trust people easily. Especially you- Her. Audrey you.” Carlos grimaced. “The pink one.”

“But she trusts you guys.” Thorn sat up. She rested her forearms on her knees, hunching over.

“You think we can convince her?” Carlos scoffed.

“I know Mal would do anything for you guys. If you wanted to stay.” Thorn looked up at them. 

“I can’t get over it,” Evie said in disbelief. “You look just like her. Except for the scars. And the hair.”

“The voice, too,” Carlos added. “It’s rougher.”

“I am her.” Thorn clenched her eyes shut. “I was her.”

The room fell silent. Thorn could feel the two teens examining her. She couldn’t blame them. She wasn’t giving them any details. She couldn’t give them the burden.

She needed to distract them.

“How was your date with Ben?” At Carlos’s incredulous look, Thorn continued, “I know, I know. But I have to see how that plan is going. All the pieces on the board.”

“It was perfect. I could not have dreamed up a better date. He took me on a romantic picnic. Just the two of us,” Evie sighed contentedly.

“Don’t tell me. By the Enchanted Lake?” Thorn felt like screaming. 

“Yes. Why?” Evie’s smile fell. 

“It’s a popular date spot since it’s so romantic. But trust me, Ben never took me on a picnic. Very thoughtful of him.” Thorn covered her worry with that excuse of talking about her ex. But that didn’t matter. She had a feeling about what happened during Ben and Evie’s date. “Your makeup and hair aren’t your usual perfect. Did Ben get in the lake?”

“He jumped in the lake,” Evie nodded as she answered. An expression of fondness appeared on her face. She giggled. “He wanted to impress me, I guess. But he didn’t come back up,” she frowned. “So I jumped in after him.”

“Evie!” Carlos’s eyes went wide. “You can’t swim.” 

“I know. But I was worried he was hurt. Oh, I wish he weren’t under the effects of a love spell!” Evie flopped backwards onto the bed and covered her eyes with her arm.

Thorn didn’t say anything. She knew what had happened last time. And even before that, everyone in Auradon knew that the water of the Enchanted Lake washed away spells. She’d keep that to herself for now.

The problem would be what Ben would do about Audrey. Sure, they had been drifting apart romantically before the Villain Kids had shown up, but Ben still cared about her. Ben had stayed with her out of duty and to honor their friendship. He wouldn’t just let Audrey be spelled to be in love with someone she hated. Even if it would make everything so much more easier. 

Audrey was the problem. 

_Again._

She’d have to deal with that girl.

But that was a problem for later. She’d have to keep an eye out for Ben.

It seemed to be that Ben was testing Evie, even if the prince didn’t know that’s what he was doing. Maybe keeping it a secret would help Evie win Ben over. 

So she made the decision for Evie instead. 

Here, she was. Treating them like children when they never had the chance to be children. 

Thorn couldn’t tell them. They had grown up without a childhood and faced such horrible hardship already. She couldn’t put any more pressure on them. Their parents were forcing them to go after the wand. Auradon was forcing them to be good. She couldn’t pressure them to save the world. 

Oh, why had she gotten them involved?

They only had to know not to go after the wand. 

“But other than the surprise non-drowning, you had a good time?” Thorn asked.

“The best time.” Evie beamed up at her.

“That’s good. At least that’s going as planned.” Thorn ran her hand over her buzzed hair, taking comfort in the bristles as she lied. “Makes me hope Mal’s date is going smoothly.”

She really hoped it was. As long as Audrey was still under the love spell, it would. 

_Freaking Audrey._

“Walk us through everything?” Carlos requested. 

“Here’s the deal. I can’t steal the wand myself. Because you’d get blamed and get sent back to the Isle. I can’t tell Ben because his father’s the worst and hates magic.” Thorn wouldn’t mention that she didn’t want to tell Ben because her Ben had been in such a depression after what happened. He had blamed himself. Ben would blame himself again for events that might not even happen. She couldn’t really deal with that right now. “King Adam will shut down the program and send you all back to the Isle. I can’t tell Mal not to go after the wand because she wants her mother to be proud of her. It’s only in the heat of the moment, that she’ll realize-”

Thorn’s eyes widened. “That the wand isn’t important.”

“It’s all she’s been talking about though,” Carlos raised an eyebrow. “We have a drinking game and everything.”

“I’m doing this all wrong.” Thorn closed her eyes, as she scolded herself. “I’m trying to change everything. Because I thought I knew better.”

Carlos and Evie shared a look, waiting for her to continue.

“It’s Jane.”

“Fairy Godmother’s daughter?” Carlos's brows narrowed in confusion. 

“Jane is a nice girl. But she feels so horrible about herself that she grabs the wand at Coronation.” Thorn clenched her jaw. 

“Um, what?” Carlos blinked, not sure if he heard correctly.

“I sure as hell didn’t help. Jane was my friend and I never- I laughed at her. After the mess that was Family Day, Jane says something cruel to Mal and I encouraged it. Mal stole my boyfriend so I was being petty and hurt. I wanted to hurt her back. So Mal unspelled Jane’s hair and I laughed at her.” Thorn’s shoulders slumped. “The final straw was Snow White, who was an adult and should have known better. She said something about her looks that was broadcasted to the whole kingdom before the Coronation. So when the wand is out, Jane grabs it from her mother and accidentally frees Maleficent.”

“I want to say all that because of hair? But I understand being worn down so much, you get desperate.” Carlos looked down at his hands. 

Evie wrapped her arm around him. “I know too.” 

Thorn frowned. She knew what they meant, what they weren’t saying. But she wouldn’t let on that she knew. It wasn’t them that had told her. This Evie and Carlos weren’t hers.

“Okay, so for now you two make friends with Jane. Evie, you’ll be busy with Ben so Carlos it’ll be more on you.” 

“I can do that.” Carlos bit his lip.

“I need to think. Ugh, I’m this close,” Thorn held up her pointer finger and thumb, nearly pressing them together. “To saying fuck it and telling everyone I’m from the future.” 

“That’s what we’re here for.” Carlos motioned between himself and Evie. “You have us now to help you.” 

“We’ll make a list!” Evie clapped her hands. She walked over to the round wooden table in the middle of the dorm room. She took a seat. 

Thorn laughed as she joined Evie at the table. She actually wanted to cry though. Evie, her Evie, the one from her time, had made lists when she brainstormed solutions to their problems. It helped with their strategies for fighting Maleficent’s forces. It was such a blow to their side when they had lost Evie.

“Here’s what we have to do,” Evie began to write on a piece of binder paper. “I’ve got: Jane’s low self esteem, Ben and Family Day, Mal’s mommy issues. Our parents will murder us if we fail. Children on the Isle. What else?”

“Audrey being the worst.” Thorn jabbed the air with her finger repeatedly. “Jot that down.”

“Okay,” Evie drew the word out. “Well, we said we would be friends with Jane. I can teach her make-up tips and Carlos will hangout with her.” That made Carlos blush and duck his head.

“Next is Ben and Family Day. What can we expect?”

“When I was dating Ben,” Thorn grimaced at how she used to act. “I’d be all over him. We’d meet with his parents. Looking back on it, Queen Belle only tolerated me. I mean I hate me. The old me.” She also hated her new self, but that wasn’t as pressing at the moment. “Just be real with them. You’re a natural charmer. You’ll win them over. You’re a much better princess than I ever was.”

“Aww, Audrey. I mean- Thorn.” Evie scrunched her face up. “That’s so obvious the more I say it. I’m surprised Mal hasn’t figured it out.”

“Well, why would she?" Thorn shrugged. "You met Audrey. Probably wanted to smack the shit out of her too the minute you met her.”

Carlos shared a look with Evie. “It’s so weird to hear you talk about yourself like that.” Then he muttered something that sounded like “talk about self-loathing.” The boy had her read completely. 

“I mean,” Evie ignored Carlos’s comment. “I was flirting with your boyfriend- her boyfriend. I can’t really blame her for going on the offensive. And I did end up stealing Ben from her. She’d be pissed if she wasn’t under a love spell. I’m sorry by the way.”

“You’ve already been forgiven. Ben and I weren’t made to last.” That was Ben, Evie, and Uma. “Like, I said Audrey is forever the Wild Card. She shouldn’t have been spelled alongside Ben in the first place. I wasn’t last time.”

“What happened last time?” Carlos pulled his chair right up next to Evie, so he could see their list.

“You guys picked Mal.” Thorn explained, leaning her chair back and putting her boots on the table top. 

Evie grimaced, but Carlos just chuckled. “You should have seen her shove a slice of pizza into her mouth earlier. As bad as the Gaston Twins.” Turning back to Thorn, he continued, “So you told us to go with Evie.” 

“It made sense to change that in an attempt to change the future.” Thorn shrugged, and pulled out one of her “borrowed” knives. “Ugh. I really wish we could kidnap Audrey and stash her away. What?” Evie was frowning. “Is it really kidnapping if I kidnap myself?”

“That’s a good question. I mean I’d say you weren’t robbing yourself.” Carlos was watching the knife in Thorn’s hand.

“Focus, please.” Evie tapped the pen on the paper. “So, Mal’s mommy issues?”

“Easy. Therapy. Getting her to go will be the problem.” Thorn was only half joking. Then she sighed. “When this is all over, you should all go. What you went through on the Isle, I think it will help.” She twirled the point of the knife against the pad of her thumb, not enough to draw blood. Just enough to feel the pressure of the tip. Goodness knows both versions of herself would benefit from therapy.

“Okay.” Evie wrote down _Therapy for everyone in her_ flowy handwriting. She moved onto the next item. “Our parents will kill us if we fail at getting the wand.”

“Make sure they never leave the Isle.” Thorn’s voice was low and threatening, gripping the hilt of the knife tightly. 

“While getting the rest of the kids out? Easier said than done.” Carlos shook his head.

Thorn had dealt with Jafar and Grimhilde in time. When they realized that they had no place in Maleficent’s plans to rule all of Auradon, they quickly sided with the Resistance against her. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. There was no doubt that the surviving Villains would double cross them once they got their revenge on Maleficent. But they hadn’t lived long enough to get the chance to. 

Only Thorn had survived it all. 

She steeled herself to go on. She had to.

“We just have to convince them it would be in their best interest to turn against Maleficent.” Thorn grinned, her teeth on full display.

“Thorn, it almost sounds like you’re suggesting murder.” Evie’s lips pursed to a thin line.

“No. Because you can’t kill anyone on the Isle because of the Barrier. Believe me, I know.” Thorn crossed her arms, knife still in hand. “Would have made this all easier,” she mumbled under her breath. 

“You’d really do that?” Carlos glanced at Evie. 

“What? Since I was raised with such noble and pure Auradonian values I can’t kill people?” Thorn slammed her boots back on the ground. “You two know firsthand how empty those values are. Our Heroes locked up innocent children with their Villain parents. And _those Heroes_ raised me." Her words dripped with venom and regret. "I’m not a good person. I haven’t been for awhile. Even before Maleficent took everything good in my life away from me.” Her voice was firm and steady, leaving no room for doubt. She threw her knife, watching it hit the bedpost farthest from them with deadly accuracy. “So if that’s what it takes, I absolutely would end her life.”

Thorn deflated and rubbed her face with her hand. “But I get it. Even if they treated you poorly. Hurt you and scarred you. They’re still your parents. You don’t have to forgive them. But you don’t want to see them dead. You just don’t want to see them.” 

That had been Thorn’s first thought on arriving before everything went wrong. To just go and kill Maleficent. She’d killed before. She had been raised by Heroes, but they were really just the people that won and wrote their history books. They rationalized the Isle of the Lost as being for Auradon’s safety. But everyone was safe already with most Villains dead and gone. What could a mortal king do worse than Hell? 

It was all about Pride. 

Thorn had that in spades. So she knew how much pleasure Adam got from his enemies being locked away, how he disguised it as justice.

She hated the man. The blame was on him as much as it was on Maleficent. The foolish King hadn’t lived long enough to regret his failure. And Thorn hated that she couldn’t use her existence to rub it in his face. 

And she hated that she could think like him.

No one could die on the Isle. 

There was no release from abuse or torture. Or starvation. Drowning was a punishment, tied down to stones or in chains. 

No one could die. 

It would be a waste to bring the Villain’s back from the dead only for them to kill each other when they were back to breathing. No one could take a life, someone else’s or their own. 

As long as they were under the Barrier.

Thorn had thought about just letting Maleficent escape. To be ready for her at Coronation. To have the Villain Kids fight her and defeat her. They would come out as heroes and be accepted by Auradon.

But she couldn’t risk it. Maleficent was weak and without magic under the Barrier. But couldn’t be killed. But freed from under the Barrier, she was too powerful. Too thirsty for blood.

The Dark had been too hard to defeat.

And she was the only survivor left to remember the horror of it all.

“Thorn?”

“Sorry, I was just thinking. The best course of action is to make sure Jane doesn’t grab the wand at Coronation. Or Mal. So Family Day needs to go smoothly. Maleficent stays on the Isle. Ben keeps bringing the other children over. But we’d have to make sure if another Villain pressures their child into freeing them or bringing down the Barrier, that we’ll be ready. I can train you.” She nodded towards the knife. “Build up your fighting and show you some magic. And you know the Isle kids and they know you. You know how to win them over.”

Thorn knew some of the Villain Kids personally. She had fought alongside them. The others she never got the chance to. She only knew them through stories and shared memories. 

“The problems would be Maleficent, Shan Yu, and the Horned King.” And of course, Zeus. He didn’t want to be left out. They were the ones that ended everything. Mutually assured destruction.

“Maleficent and the Horned King make sense to me. But is Shan Yu on their level?”

“Why not? He has a brilliant strategic mind.” Thorn replied to Carlos’s doubt. “He assessed the situation and the other players. And allied himself with some strong magic users and scientists. And he got his hands on a very powerful artifact. The Heart of Atlantis. And he weaponized it.”

“But it’s misuse is what doomed Atlantis!” Evie gasped.

“And it’s what doomed Agrabah and Northern Wei. And eventually the rest of the world.”

“You mean something like a nuclear bomb?” Carlos’s eyes were wide.

“Yes. Then you add Maleficent’s Scepter and the Black Cauldron. There was going to be nothing left. Not even the Olympians. The Execution of All Things. We- I came back just in time,” Thorn's shoulders slumped at all the loss. Her loss. But she couldn't give up. She had to go on. “So we’re not going to underestimate any of them.”

Carlos looked horrified, but didn’t ask Thorn to elaborate. Evie seemed to be thinking about something else.

“Shan Yu has enough kids to try something. But most of them hate him. And the Horned King’s daughter. She won’t help him,” Evie offered.

Thorn covered Evie’s hand with her own. “I know.”

Evie gave her a weak smile.

“Unfortunately that doesn’t mean. They won’t try to manipulate an incoming VK. So you’ll have to talk them out of it. Let them know they’re safe here. Out of reach.”

“Is that true? Are we safe here?” Carlos huddled closer to Evie to comfort her.

“I’ll make sure of it.”

“We’ll try to believe you,” Carlos murmured, having been hurt by adults too many times before.

“That’s all you can do.”

“Okay,” Evie took a deep breath. “The last problem.”

“Audrey has to be dealt with.” Thorn nodded.

Undoing the spell would clear Audrey’s mind, whether it was Ben splashing her with lake water or Mal giving her the antidote. That would be the end result. The girl would run off and expose the four. She wouldn’t let it go if she was free to share what she knew.

But if she didn’t know?

If she didn’t remember?

There was a spell for that. Thorn hated it. But to sacrifice one to save several, she’d made that decision before. 

“I’ll take care of it,” Thorn gruffed out. 

“You sound like an Enforcer on the Isle.” Carlos frowned. “Audrey has to be _dealt_ with. You’ll _take_ care of it.”

Thorn sighed. Carlos’s concern for any version of her would take some getting used to. “Audrey will be fine. I’ll just do a memory spell.”

“A spell?” Evie raised an eyebrow. “Can I just ask how you’re able to do magic? Since after all, you’re going to train us.”

Evie would ask that. And if it wasn’t her, it would have been Carlos. She was surprised Mal hadn’t asked, but it would have been the how. It would have been “What can you teach me?”

Thorn groaned. "You know, curiosity killed the cat.” 

“But satisfaction brought it back.” Evie beamed back at her.

“There’s different types of magic in Auradon. Magical beings like Mal. Then long family lines like Evie’s. But those of us who aren’t born with magic in our blood have to go about it in different ways. Shadowy deals like Facilier or giving up your humanity like the Horned King. No one is without some level of magic.” Thorn glanced at Carlos and Evie to see if they were following along. The two teens were hanging on her every word, and wanted her to continue.

So she did.

“There just needs to be some way to focus, to channel it. Cinderella has used Fairy Godmother’s wand before. Someone like Carlos or Audrey could use it as well. Or Maleficent’s Scepter. Or The Black Cauldron. And the Heart of Atlantis. But not for long. Not without a price to pay. The armor is one thing I use to channel magic. Makes it easier. It’s like a battery. I can charge it up and expel the magical energy later. I don’t need the armor, but it’s very draining without it. Now, the tattoos and brands. A lot are some basic spells I can call on in a fight real quick without having to recast them. Fireballs. Bursts of Super Strength. Shields.” Thorn tugged on the sleeve of her underarmor shirt to show them what she could of the inked and burned symbols on her wrist and hands. “The rest of me is covered in them.” 

“What do you use to charge your magic armor?” “What’s the price to pay?” Carlos and Evie asked at the same time.

“The price…” Thorn rubbed the sigil on her wrist with her thumb. “For some, it’s a shorter life. Or a soul. Or your humanity. Or loved ones. The price that I was willing to pay was expensive. There’s nothing to lose when you’ve already lost everything. I don’t know how long I have left.” 

“Don’t we all.” Evie flashed a watery smile at the answer Thorn gave her.

“Strong emotions can fuel magic. Love. Happiness. Fear. Guilt. Anger. Sorrow. _Grief_.” Thorn brought her hand up to her chest. “For me, magic comes from pain. And I’m hurting all the time.” Thorn bared her teeth, shoving through a bitter chuckle.

Carlos didn’t look too enthused with the answer he got either. 

“Don’t look so sad. Pulling this off and saving everyone will be worth it. I can leave this world happy.” To be judged in the next for all her sins. Thorn didn’t say that last part out loud.

“We just met you and you already have to leave us so soon,” Carlos frowned.

“Hey now. You still have Audrey. That’s something. Not great, but something. Look, I hate to be that person but we have to focus. Are we all on the same page?”

“If you have Audrey and the two of us have Jane covered, we should all tackle Mal.” Evie glared at Thorn opening her mouth with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “I don't mean literally.”

“It would make everything so much more easier. Mal is- She doesn’t realize how special and amazing she is. How she could be if she wasn’t so weighed down by how much she cares about what Maleficent thinks.” Thorn smiled sadly, at how every realization came too late. 

“Maybe someone should show her,” Evie tilted her head to the side.

“Maybe.”

“Did you have someone? In the future?” Evie nodded at the ring Thorn wore on a chain around her neck. 

Thorn hadn’t realized she’d been holding onto it. 

“I did. I came back for her.”

Evie grinned knowingly.

“Don’t start,” Thorn warned but knew it would be no use.

Evie was too smart for her own good. 

“I didn’t say anything.”

Thorn had missed this. Evie and Carlos. She missed all of them. Even that crazy bastard Harry Hook. 

But most of all she missed her.

_Jean._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think. I love to hear your theories. 
> 
> So some of you already figured out who Thorn is. But here it is confirmed! And now there's Jean to figure out. And hints about the dark timeline Thorn came from.
> 
> So I'm referencing some events that take place in _Cinderella III: A Twist In Time_.
> 
> I really enjoyed the SYFY series _The Magicians_ so the magic here is inspired by their "Magic comes from pain." Also the tattoos and finger tutting to do spells. It's a pretty dark show so look into trigger warnings if you're going to check it out. Also some inspiration from _The Umbrella Academy_ on Netflix. And of course, the popular head canon that no on can die on the Isle of the Lost.
> 
> Also Thorn just thinks of herself as not Audrey. Like she doesn't think of herself as the Audrey all the present characters know. Cuz she doesn't go by Audrey in the darker timelines.
> 
> You can find me at tumblr under the name go-sullivan if you want to ask more questions about the fic.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrey takes Mal to watch the sunset. Then they wait for the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The third and final part of this first date.

The view of Auradon City was stunning.

The streets and buildings were sprawled out below them. Mal had been above the Isle before, looking down on everyone from the balcony of the Bargain Castle. But that was nothing compared to this. The sun was lower in the blue sky. It would be setting soon. There were forests and mountains going until the horizon. There was just a sense of beyond. Everything was unlimited to her now that she wasn’t trapt under the Barrier and stuck on the Isle. Trapt with her mother. 

She could be free.

Mal and Audrey were sitting in the front seat of Audrey’s car with the roof, or the top as the princess had called it, down. Apparently, the car was a convertible. Which Mal was disappointed to find that meant that it could only convert into a car with no roof. And not something else like a boat. 

“I come out here to be alone sometimes. To think. To scream. Princesses shouldn't scream, but it’s great because out here no one can hear you scream.” Audrey turned towards Mal. 

“Oh shit, did you bring me out here to murder me?” Mal joked, but then worried that she had offended Audrey by even suggesting that she was capable of that act.

“No, your blood would be a pain to get out of my shoes.” Audrey drawled.

“You’d just buy new ones.” Mal relaxed at Audrey playing along.

“True.” Audrey faced forward and took a deep breath. “This is where I go when I want to disappear.”

“And you’re sharing it with me?”

“Maybe I want someone to disappear with.” Audrey glanced over at Mal. It was such a vulnerable look from the princess that had been nothing but confident.

Mal shivered, not because she was cold. But because of how close Audrey was. How alone they were. Anything could happen.

“Are you cold? It is a little chillier now that the sun is starting to set.” Audrey grabbed a blanket from the back seat. “Always be ready for anything. I like to be prepared.”

“Yeah,” Mal started as Audrey spread the blanket over their laps. “You do come off as someone that likes to have everything-”

“Don’t,” Audrey warned.

“Covered.” Mal spread her hand over the soft material, a shit-eating grin on her face.

“Murder is not off the table.” Audrey glared at her, but then they both burst into laughter. 

“So,” Mal caught her breath after the laughing fit. “I already know your favorite color and your favorite food, what can I ask? What’s your favorite season?”

“You’d think it would be spring, but it’s actually autumn. Because the leaves change color, I can drink warm drinks without sweating, and snuggling in front of the fireplace with someone would be nice. It’s coming up soon. We should see about getting you guys warmer clothes.” Audrey hummed to herself. “But these are your standard first date questions. It’s kind of hard to talk about what my favorite movie or the last vacation I went on when you didn’t have those options growing up.” 

“Evie gave me some questions to ask you so we could have something to talk about.” Mal dipped her head. “As part of getting to know each other. She said it’s what people do on first dates. Trust her to give me homework for our date,” she groaned.

“Aww. Did you study for our date?” 

“Evie likes to prepare.” Mal felt her face warm. “You should hear some of her other icebreakers.”

“I almost expect you to pull out some index cards. But I feel like I’ve been talking about myself this whole time so why don’t I ask you some questions.” Audrey leaned back against the driver side door, her arm resting along the top of it. Open and relaxed. “You can answer them. Or not. I think I have some good ones. And if you like them, you can ask me the same one.”

“We can do that,” Mal agreed.

“How did you Jay, Carlos, and Evie come together?” Audrey propped her arm up against the door, and rested her head on her hand. “Like obviously, you all grew up knowing each other. You said your mom had a part in it.”

“This is going to sound bad, but I didn’t really think of them as friends back on the Isle. There’s no friends on the Isle. Not like here.” Mal wasn’t allowed to have friends. Her mother wouldn’t allow it. 

She continued, “The four of us were allies. Our little gang against everyone else. Jay was first. He had a bunch of valuable skills. And I’m great at scheming, so we became partners in crime. But then my mom gave me a mission to prove myself to her. Of course, Jay was coming. Carlos and Evie too. They were assets so they joined up with me and Jay. Even if I didn’t like them at first.” 

Mal was leaving some details out, of course. 

That Mal saw Jay as a minion at first. That Evie had been banished to her castle for ten years after Mal had not been invited to the girl’s sixth birthday party. That Jay and Mal had made Carlos’s life miserable until he was useful. That Carlos had made something that punched a hole in the Barrier, which led to them finding out Maleficent’s Scepter was so close. That the mission was to go and bring it back. And that Evie was brought along for Mal to sacrifice to the Sleeping Curse that would befall anyone that touched the Scepter. Mal couldn’t risk that even though she was spelled that Audrey could still report them to the proper authorities. That they could then find out about the spell on Ben and Audrey. 

Then everything would fall apart.

“What was the mission?”

“To steal back something that was taken from my mother.” Which was true. But Mal continued before Audrey could ask what it was they were after. She chose to modify the truth. “A green crystal.” Which was also true, just not the whole truth. “Evie and Carlos came through. We saved each others’ asses from booby traps. Fought off an army of goblins. Grabbed the crystal and ran. And we’ve been running wild ever since.”

She ignored how it made her feel that she was so ready to doom Evie like that. It sounded so horrible. She couldn’t admit that to Audrey, who’s own mother had been a victim of the Sleeping Curse. Audrey was afraid of Maleficent. Mal was afraid of herself, what she was capable of. She shoved those thoughts down.

“Nothing like fire forged friends,” Audrey’s words weren’t the distraction she wanted.

The word “friends” made her feel even more weight on her shoulders. It was hard to carry. If she couldn't unburden herself of the Sleeping Curse or the Love Spell, she could confess another wrong.

“There was,” Mal cleared her drying throat. “Someone else I was close with back on the Isle.”

“They got left behind.” Audrey nodded slowly, stating the obvious.

“The truth is I left her way before we left the Isle for Auradon. The way you talked about Lonnie made me think of her.” 

“Were you two like me and Lonnie? You don’t have to answer that, of course.” Audrey was gentle.

“No. Maybe. It’s complicated. We were still pretty young. My mother didn’t like how close I was with Uma. She saw it as a weakness. I got scared and ended it. Badly. I don’t know why I’m telling you this.” Mal laughed awkwardly. “I didn’t even tell Evie.”

And that wasn’t the whole story with Uma either. 

“Anytime you reveal personal information to someone else, it increases intimacy between you and the other person.” Audrey bit her lip and looked away. “Maybe she can be part of the next batch of kids brought over and you can patch things up.”

“Or she’ll stab me.” Mal knew she would deserve it too. “But do you think they’ll let the daughter of Ursula come to Auradon?”

“They let you in. And you’re the worst of the worst. She can’t be as bad as you,” Audrey’s tone was light, like Mal was about as bad as kitten. Mal didn’t know if she should feel insulted that Audrey didn’t see her as a threat or feel guilty that Audrey was wrong about her.

“No. She’s better. A better person than I am.” Mal looked down at her hands.

“But you’re trying though, right?” Audrey leaned forward and covered Mal’s hands with one of her own. “Being good isn’t as easy as I make it look.” 

“Being humble is a struggle for you too, huh?” Mal grinned, weak at how this girl made her feel less broken.

Audrey’s jaw dropped, but her eyes shone brightly with amusement. “Hey, I was just trying to lighten the mood and you attack me? I see how it is.”

“I _am_ trying.” Mal wish she meant it. Audrey was starting to make her want to try though.

“And that’s good.” Audrey nodded slowly.

But was it enough?

“How about you? How did you meet your squad? Chad and Ben. How you became the Royal Three?” Mal scrunched her face, not sure if she was a fan of that name.

“Our parents mostly. Not through a heist like you and yours. Unless you count trying to get extra cookies?” Audrey admitted, embarrassed at her childish actions.

“Oh, a scam. What was your move?” Mal thought it was hilarious. 

“Looking cute. And throwing in some tears while Chad and Ben got the goods.” Audrey cringed.

“Yeah. I can see how that worked. Worked on me. But you’ve very much upgraded from cute. To beyond gorgeous.” Mal chewed on her bottom lip.

“Glad I can help you work on your compliments and flattery. Next question. Who would you want to punch? Aside from me when we first met, of course.” Audrey playfully gestured at herself.

“Come on. I didn’t want to punch you when we first met. Maybe shove you a little bit,” Mal chuckled. “Anyone I’ve wanted to punch and deserved it, I’ve punched.”

“Who was the most satisfying person to punch then?” Audrey didn’t miss a beat.

“The Gaston twins.”

“Oh, dear. He had more than one?” Audrey looked pained.

“He has at least three.” Mal couldn’t be sure if there were other kids. Not everyone knew who their other parent was like she did. “Gaston Jr and Gaston the Third.”

“He _would_ name them after himself.” 

Mal didn’t point out that Maleficent had done the same with her. “Gil isn’t so bad. So punching him would be like punching a puppy.” Audrey was looking at her, so she explained. “It wouldn’t be fun.”

“I mean I guess it wouldn’t be sporting. Like you’d have to be really cruel or really weak to do that is what you’re saying.” 

“Yes.” It was fascinating to Mal that Audrey understood what she meant. She had imagined that the daughter of Sleeping Beauty would be aghast at the mere suggestion of hurting an animal. “There’s kids like that on the Isle. That you just wouldn’t hurt. Sure steal from them and call them names. Like I wouldn’t hurt any of the younger ones. If a teen went after a kid, they’d be dealt with. Especially if that kid was someone’s claim.”

“Sounds like the Isle has rules. It’s own set of rules, but you follow them.” Audrey had a thoughtful look on her face.

“No! It’s a code of conduct,” Mal crossed her arms. She didn’t follow rules. She broke them.

“If you say so,” Audrey chuckled. 

“Is it too late to change my answer on who I want to punch?” Mal griped without really meaning it.

“Yes,” Audrey deadpanned without missing a beat.

“Well, how about it, princess? Who would you want to punch? Aside from me when we first met, of course.” Mal put her hand against her chest.

“Ben comes to mind for that stunt he pulled with Evie at the lake,” Audrey tapped her point finger against her chin. “But that would be like kicking a puppy. Or it might be Doug for stalking Evie. Or Chad for using Evie to do his homework. Wow, there’s just something about Evie that makes me want to destroy anyone that hurts her.”

“Right?” Mal agreed. “I know she can take care of herself. Like really well. But still.”

“I’d probably do that for any girl to be honest. And I’d do it with no witnesses, so no one would believe him. And I’d make sure his life would be miserable.” Audrey said firmly, leaving no doubt she would make good on the promise.

“Devious. I like that.”

“Like I said I’m a planner.” Audrey ran a hand through her hair. The action caused her sleeve to move up her forearm a little bit.

“You have a tattoo?” Mal was scandalized, as she reached for Audrey’s hand. But she stopped herself. The move was overly familiar. “Not even I have a tattoo. What does it mean?”

“It’s-”Audrey started to wave her off. But she sighed and tugged up her jacket sleeve, baring her wrist. The design was still visible in the waning light. There in sharp and black ink was a five sided shape with intersecting lines inside it, dividing it into four unequal parts. One small rectangle at the top was further divided into two squares. The skin around it was still an angry red.

Mal waited for Audrey to continue.

“It’s just something from my kingdom. A belief in Auroria. A shield,” Audrey winced. Both girls knew that Philip had carried the Shield of Virtue and Sword of Truth into battle with Maleficent. Even without having seen a painting of the battle a few hours ago. And they knew how that battle had ended. “For protection. Or like a good luck charm.”

“Is it working?” Mal teased.

“You’re here, aren’t you?” Audrey said so gently, it hurt to hear. “I’d say it’s working.” 

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Mal blurted out. Even with the love spell, she still couldn’t believe Audrey could be this way with her. Could be like this with anyone. 

“I can be nice. Sometimes. Look I was awful to you. I’m sorry. And I can never apologize enough.” Audrey wrapped her other hand around her wrist, and rubbed it.

The princess was frowning. For some reason, Mal didn’t like seeing Audrey upset.

“We already talked about this at the museum. Don’t beat yourself up about it. I mean you had to be cautious. I’m the daughter of the villain that hurt your family. She raised me so I could be just like her.” Mal looked at her lap.

“But you’re not.” Audrey put her hand on Mal’s knee. “Are you?”

“I don’t know. She wants me to be. She has these plans for me. I don’t think I want to do that stuff. I want to do my own thing. But I still want her to be proud of me.” Mal’s shoulder slumped.

“I understand that. All too well. But to be the perfect princess then the perfect queen is probably not the same as whatever the Mistress of Evil is pressuring you to be,” Audrey sighed.

“No, but the longer I’m in Auradon the more I realize that no one should be treated like that. The way my mother treated me. The way our parents treated us back on the Isle. But it’s hard sometimes.” Mal wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m afraid that all I’m good at is ruining lives. Just like my mother. She ruined your mom’s life. And here I am ruining yours.”

“I don’t think you’ve done anything to ruin my life. Do you?” Audrey was asking about something that hadn’t happened yet. The princess had no idea.

“Not on purpose. Like when we tried out for cheerleading. And the other girls got mad at you. I really did fall. Thanks for catching me by the way.” Mal looked up Audrey.

“Always.”

“And then with Ben and the cookies-”

“Mal, it’s fine.” Audrey cut her off.

“But-”

“It was the push I needed to see that Ben and I weren’t really working. And Me being here with you made me realize that. And I’d hardly say my mom’s life was ruined. She got her prince and she got her crown. Her happily ever after. My grandmother on the other hand,” Audrey grimaced. “She missed out on raising my mother so here I am to make up for it.” She tensed and let out a long sigh. “The mask I have to wear for her. That’s all I am. But then I became the mask instead. That perfect pink princess. When you wear a mask, you don’t get hurt. I don’t know who I am without it.”

Mal thought of what Thorn had told her back at the dorms when they were getting her ready for her date. 

“ _Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are._ And who you are is Audrey. Someone that wants the best for her people. A protector.” Mal leaned in closer to the other girl. “I figured that out really quick. What with you coming at me full tilt like a knight up against a dragon our first day here,” she teased.

Audrey covered her face with her hands, groaning. “Never gonna let me live that down. Forgiven but not forgotten, huh?”

“Hey, knights are sexy though. Swords and armor.”

“But you know Machiavelli? That’s who you quoted.” Audrey raised an eyebrow. “My grandfather loved those books.” 

“Is that where that’s from?” Mal was just playing Thorn’s words forward. “No, someone just told me that recently and I guess I remembered it.”

“I finally read them since he always quoted _The Prince_ to me. So I’m pretty sure he wanted a prince instead of a princess. You know a grandson.” Audrey ran hand through her hair, messing up the strands a bit.

“That’s pretty messed up, Audrey.”

Audrey laughed bitterly. “Yeah. It really is.”

“Your grandparents suck. And I’m not just saying that as Maleficent’s daughter.” Mal held her hands up in front of her, because she didn’t mean to offend Audrey. She was just stating her observation based on what Audrey told her.

“They do, but they’re family.” Audrey pressed her lips together.

Mal had pretty much said the same thing about her mother earlier on their date.

“You’re very easy to talk to,” Audrey said softly, and faced Mal fully. “Nothing like it was with Ben. With him, I had to be a certain way. Do what was expected of me. But with you, I feel like I can be myself. That I can be real.”

Mal tried not to squirm under Audrey’s gaze. It was like the other girl could see everything she was trying to hide. Mal had built up her defenses. To show the world she was strong. Audrey figured her out because the princess was doing the same thing too. 

“Audrey-

“Mal-”

They both laughed.

“You go.” Mal was nervous. She had almost come clean.

“Just… Whatever happens. This is the truth. I had a great time with you. I-” Audrey’s phone vibrated, interrupting her. She groaned as she looked at the screen. She put it back into her jacket pocket. “Just a text message. I’ll text Ben back later. What did you want to say?”

“That the stars are beautiful.” 

It was true, but not what Mal wanted to say. The sun had set and the stars were out. There were so many. 

“You know what else is beautiful?” Audrey closed the space between them. 

“Evie,” they both said at the same time.

“No, but seriously.” Mal centered herself. “Thank you for sharing all of this with me.”

This time, ringing interrupted the song. The ring tone started blaring through the car’s speakers. “Come on, Benjamin. Take the hint.” Audrey picked up her phone and typed something out. “He wants to talk. He’s going to have to wait.”

“Must be important.” Mal bit her lip. “I guess he and Evie are back from their date. Maybe we should head back ourselves.”

Mal had to talk to Evie about what was happening. What she was feeling. No, Jay would be the better choice. He knew how to be unattached. Or she could bottle it all up like always.

If only.

If only it could just be the two of them like this. If only this could last forever.

If only they could disappear.

“Of course.” Audrey put on her seat belt. “Buckle up, Aubergine.” 

That cute little nickname. Only Audrey could get away with it. Mal was doomed.

Mal put on her seat belt, with a pout on her face. “I went to the library and found a French to English dictionary! I don’t know if I like that nickname.”

Audrey started the car. She glanced over at her.

“Jean, then. For short.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this makes sense after the last chapter. That Ben and Evie's date ended before Audrey and Mal's. So Evie made it back to the dorm to talk to Carlos and Thorn. 
> 
> I took French in high school. I was bad at it. Sorry if the pronunciation of aubergine and Jean aren't really the same to my stupid bad at French ears. I watched tutorials too many times to count. And like I went with spelling it like "Jean" because I don't like how it looks phonetically? And of course Jean has a different pronunciation in France than in English speaking countries. T-T. 
> 
> So that's Jean revealed. 
> 
> “Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.” is a quote from _The Prince_ by Machiavelli.
> 
> _If Only_ from Descendants is given a shout out. 
> 
> Let me know what you think! If you have some theories. Or questions.
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at [go-sullivan](https://go-sullivan.tumblr.com)


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Kids from the Isle talk to their parents, who check in on the plan to grab the wand. Thorn checks in on the Kids from the Isle to see if they're okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and commenting! You guys are so good. ;D It was my birthday the other day so I thought I'd get this out for you guys!

“Children, excuse me. As you know Family Day here at Auradon Prep is fast approaching. And because your parents can't be here due to, uh, distance, we've arranged for a special treat.” Fairy Godmother clapped her hand together excitedly. Mal couldn’t tell if she was genuinely happy or being self congratulatory. 

Evie and Carlos shared a look. Mal realized they were doing that a lot lately. But those two had always been close. They hung back when Fairy Godmother asked them to come closer to the sleek more modern than what they had back on the Isle television.

“I don’t think-” Evie started but she was cut off by the screen turning on.

Maleficent’s face took up the screen. Jafar, Cruella, and the Evil Queen were with her. The four bickered while they tried to get the video call to work on their end. Mal hoped they wouldn’t figure it out.

“Evie, it's mommy. Oh! Look how beautiful,” the Evil Queen pointed and waved at her daughter. Evie gave a weak smile. Mal thought that was odd. “Oh, you know what they say, the poison apple doesn't fall far from the tree.”

“Have you looked in a Magic Mirror lately? Please,” Maleficent scoffed.

“Ooh! Who's the old bat?” Cruella cut in.

“This is Fairy Godmother,” Mal introduced their minder in Auradon.

“Still doing tricks with eggplants?” Maleficent snickered.

“I turned a pumpkin into a beautiful carriage,” Fairy Godmother said tightly.

Mal tried not to sigh. Her mother would give her hell for interrupting her fun. Maleficent was trying to upset the good fairy, and Fairy Godmother was falling for it. 

“Thank you so much,” Evie said sweetly to Fairy Godmother, which seemed to calm her down. That’s not the tone Mal would have used herself. She hated this whole situation. Evie did too, but she was better at hiding it. 

“Let me just get out of the way. I’ll just be over here.” Fairy Godmother beamed at Evie as she went to stand off to the side. Of course they were still going to be supervised. 

“Hi, Mom,” Mal greeted tiredly. She tilted her head toward the area where Fairy Godmother was standing to indicate they were still being observed. The Villains caught on.

“Mal! I miss you.” Maleficent’s words were full of false cheer. Mal wanted nothing more than for her mother to mean those words. They were only said because Maleficent wanted something.

“You children are never far from our thoughts,”Jafar offered more pleasantries that wouldn’t be out of place in Auradon, mindful of who was listening in.

Jay started to smile, but then he realized what his father meant at the same time Mal did. Their thoughts of them grabbing the wand and releasing all the Villains.

“I got it.” Maleficent dismissed Jafar. “How long must mommy wait to see you?” Her glare betrayed her sweet motherly tone.

“Um, there's a big coronation coming up. I think sometime probably after... that.” Mal cringed at the doubt slipping through. No, her plan was going to work because she came up with it.

“When?” Maleficent hated waiting. 

“The 20th,” Mal answered quickly. “It starts at 10 am, but he’ll be crowned at noon.”

“You sure I can't see you before that? I don't know what I'll do If I don't get my hands on that magic wan…” Jafar waved his hands in Maleficent’s face to stop her from exposing their plan. “You... you little nugget that I love so much.”

_Geez._ Is that how she sounded when she’d talk about the wand? How hadn’t they been caught yet? Fairy Godmother had to have been suspicious. She glanced at the older fairy, who was on her phone as if to give them some privacy. 

“Yes, I completely understand, mother.” Mal ducked her head. 

“Carlos! Is that a dog?” Cruella’s eyes went wild as she got closer to the screen to see. “Oh, yes, yes, baby. I do understand,” she addressed her fur coat. “It would make the perfect size for earmuffs.”

“He’s the perfect size for a friend.” Carlos stood firm, chin up against his mother in a way that Mal had never seen him do before. “And your dog is stuffed. I really wish you got the help you needed.”

Jafar and Cruella started to bicker. Their raised voices left the four of them tense. 

“We’re done here.” Evie put her hand on Mal’s shoulder and pulled her behind her. Jay had Carlos in the same way, as he shut the conference call with a click of the keyboard. 

“I am so sorry,” Fairy Godmother had a displeased look on her face. 

“Thank you for the special treat.” Jay sighed, shaking his head. 

The four teens walked out of the classroom.

“M, what do you think our parents are gonna do to us if we don’t pull this off?” The way Evie was asking came off as stern. It wasn’t asking for reassurance from a leader. It was asking if Mal really wanted to go through with her plan. 

It made Mal doubt herself. So out came her go to self defense mechanism: Sarcastic humor. “I think they will be quietly disappointed in us, but ultimately... Proud of us for doing our best.”

“I’m serious, Mal.” Evie actually glared at her. 

“Yeah. We’re definitely goners,” Mal groaned.

“So why go through with this? They’re on the Isle and we’re here. Away from them. “ Carlos held Dude closer.

“My mother. I have to prove myself to her. I can’t fail.” Mal clenched her jaw.

“Coach says “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.” So we can’t fail if we don’t try.” Jay wrapped his arm around Carlos’s shoulder, trying to defuse the situation.

“I don’t think that’s the lesson to take away from that.” Carlos laughed at Jay’s attempt.

“Thorn said she’d help us.” Evie ignored the two boys. “That she’d protect us. We don’t have to go after the wand.”

“And if they ever get free some other way? Do you think one person could stop Maleficent?” Mal liked Thorn, trusted her even. But that wasn’t enough. She feared her mother more.

“Why not? One person stopped her before?” Carlos rejoined the conversation with that point.

“Yeah. With the help of three just okay fairies,” Mal scoffed.

“Well, the four of us are better than those three.” Jay pumped his fist.

“Guys,” Mal commanded. “We’re so close. We have Ben and Audrey. And they’ll- They do whatever we ask. Whatever we’ll tell them to. We could probably get Jay and Carlos upfront too. You can’t split us up like that. If Ben is anything like Audrey is under the spell, we’ll have the wand in no time.” 

Carlos and Evie shared a look.

Mal was getting real tired of that.

Especially everytime Carlos and Evie would share looks with each other while they were going over the plan for Coronation back at the boys’ dorm room.

“Okay, we all know what the wand looks like. It'll be up on the dais under Beast's spell jar, and we'll be coming in from here. Evie will be in the very front.” Mal pointed at the layout of Auradon Cathedral that Carlos had pulled off the internet. “I’ll be with Audrey and the other Royals. You two will be up in the balcony. But that could change if we play our cards right. So know the escape route from the ground floor as well. Carlos?”

“Find our limo. Break the Barrier. Get back on the Isle with the wand.” Carlos crossed his arms. 

“Perfect.” Mal ignored Carlos’s displeasure. “Evie?”

The girl was deep in thought, obviously not paying attention to the planning session. She had an intense look on her face, as if she was trying to set the planning table and everything on it on fire.

“Evie.” Mal snapped her fingers in front of the girl’s face.

“Yes?” Evie slipped on a sweet smile. 

“Did you make that potion I asked you to?” Mal laid her hands flat on the table and leaned forward. She felt like she was losing control of the group and she needed to feel steady. “To take out the driver?” 

“Two sprays and he'll be out like a light.” Evie held up what looked like a harmless perfume bottle.

“Carlos and Evie, we all need to be on the same page. You too, Jay.” Mal stared each of them down. Only Evie met her eyes.

“I’m going to see if I can talk to Jane before curfew.” Carlos moved towards the door.

“To see if you can get up front with her?” Mal asked. That was actually a good plan and she wished she had thought of it. Jane was a girl that would be happy for any attention from a boy. Or anyone, really. It was really sad, but it wasn’t Mal’s problem. 

Mal was hoping that was the reason. But knew it was because Carlos needed to cool off away from her.

“Sure.” Carlos waved his hand up over his shoulder, not even bothering to look back at Mal as he left with Dude at his heels. 

Jay looked at both of the girls. “I’ll go make sure he’s on board.”

Once the girls were alone, Mal sat down at the table with a sigh. 

Evie remained standing. “Can you really blame Carlos? You know how Cruella treated him.” 

“I’m doing this for him. If she’s free, maybe she’ll let him go.” Mal winced. It sounded stupid even to her.

“You’re having your doubts too, Mal.” Evie nodded towards the open spell book. It was open to the page entitled “ _How To Break A Love Spell_.” “And maybe you want to break Audrey's love spell.”

“After the date we had. Our conversations. Something between us. I can’t explain it. I don't... I've just been thinking.” Mal chewed on her bottom lip.

“Come on, M.” Evie pleaded with her. “I was hoping to do the same for Ben, so I know what you’re thinking.”

“I don’t want to say it out loud.” Mal avoided looking at the other girl, shutting her spell book closed.

“That won’t make it any less real. You know that’s what’s going to happen if we go through with this. If we set our parents free.” Evie stared Mal down.

“That we won’t be their punching bags or servants anymore!”

“Yes. And it’ll just be someone else. It’ll be Audrey or Ben or some other poor, unfortunate soul.” Evie’s jaw was clenched as she shook her head slowly.

There was a tap at the window sill, both girls turned towards it in time to see Thorn climb in.

“I really appreciate you guys leaving the windows to your dorm rooms open. Makes it so much easier for me to get in.” Thorn chuckled as her boots touched the floor and she was fully inside.

Mal was glad for the distraction. Evie sighed and sat down at the table.

“Because someone can’t use the door like a normal person.” Mal grinned.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Thorn chuckled. She looked around the dorm room. “Now, did you and the boys switch rooms or what? They’re going to miss out on the donuts and coffee I snagged. I hope they didn’t get smooshed.” She pulled the knapsack she had on off of her back and pulled out a pink box that looked a little crushed. She set the box on the table followed by a big metal canister. She pulled out some metal mugs.

“Carlos went to see if he could talk to Jane,” Evie answered Thorn.

“Yeah?” 

“But it was more to get away from Mal,” Evie explained further.

“Hey!” 

“What? It’s true.” Evie waved her hand, dismissing Mal’s offense.

“You want to tell me why Carlos left?” Thorn stood up straighter.

“Not really.” Mal shot Evie a warning look. She liked and trusted Thorn, but saying Carlos was against her felt like a failure. 

“I mean I have a few guesses, but we can talk about something else. I’m just checking in on The Plan.” Thorn flopped down into a seat. She rested her hands over her chest, her fingers steepled together. 

“The Plan is great,” Mal blurted out. “It’s going great.”

Evie pursed her lips. She looked between Mal and Thorn. But she didn’t say whatever was on her mind. 

“Sure,” Thorn drew the word out slowly, not believing Mal for one second. “But what about your Royal Lovefools? Your date go well? I know that Evie had a great time with Ben.”

“When did you talk to Evie about her date?” Mal’s brow furrowed, feeling jealous of Evie getting to spend time with the masked woman. Their dates had only gone done a couple night before.

“While we were waiting for you to get back from yours. Almost broke curfew, young lady.” Thorn tapped at the back of her wrist, where a watch would be. “I knew that Audrey was trouble.”

“What! No, I’m trouble,” Mal defended herself. 

“Put that pout away. You’re adorable. But seriously, how was the date with Audrey?” Thorn tilted her head. 

Mal frowned.

“That bad, huh?”

“No. The opposite actually. I had fun with Audrey.” Mal smiled softly when she remembered her date. “I didn’t think I would. It wasn’t what I expected. I would have thought she would have taken me to some fancy restaurant wearing an expensive dress to show off. Talk about herself and her status. But she made the date about me. Like I was the princess.”

Evie gave a little squeal. 

Thorn looked over at Mal. “How so?”

“First of all, she showed up to our date in jeans and sneakers. ” Mal remembered that Audrey didn’t look so stiff. Her expression wasn’t so pinched. “All relaxed. Comfortable. Then we take her car. The car she worked on with her dad. That she drove herself. Not a chauffeur. _She drove the car_.” For the first part of our date, she brought me to the Museum. But we went to the Cultural part. With all the artwork. All because she saw what I did to my locker and how I sketch sometimes.” 

“Well, sometimes Audrey does look beyond herself. She pays attention when she wants to.” Thorn sounded pained when she said that about Audrey. 

“After the museum, we got dinner,” Mal continued. “Very casual stuff. Burgers and fries.”

“She brought you to Cookie and Ruth’s? They have the best burgers in all of Auradon. And their milkshakes. I miss that place,” Thorn sighed longingly.

Mal thought that reaction was weird. Thorn could probably just go. Maybe not in her armor and mask but she could go. Mal went back to talking about her date.

“I got strawberry. Which… strawberries are amazing.” Mal was almost drooling. 

“Strawberry, of course. You’re gonna like these then.” Thorn opened the box she had set on the table. “Strawberry jelly donuts. These ones here. Try it.”

“Ben had some of these at our picnic. I had the apple fritter.” Evie smiled, no doubt thinking about her date with the future king. “I still can’t believe they have dessert for breakfast here.”

“Pancakes?” Mal asked Evie. “Cake is right there in the name. I had those with Audrey. With strawberries.”

Evie gasped. “When? You’re not a morning person.”

“This morning. After you went wherever you went to. She showed up with breakfast and ice coffee at our dorm room.” Mal shrugged. “Where did you go anyway?”

“I had breakfast with Ben. But back to you! Audrey woke you up and you didn’t maim her? You’ve only been on one date and she’s bringing you breakfast in bed.” Evie was scandalized, still in shock. 

“I- It was a nice way to wake up,” Mal grumbled. Her face was warm. She didn’t mind Audrey knocking on her door. “I think she was just checking in. She had to get to practice so she didn’t stick around for long.”

Thorn sat up straight. “She showed up with breakfast?”

“That’s what I said.” 

“Huh.” Thorn leaned forward.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mal raised an eyebrow.

“It means she’s still under the love spell,” Thorn gruffed out.

“Oh. Yeah.” Mal was disappointed at the reminder that it was all because of a spell.

“So where did you go after dinner that night? You guys were out for awhile.” Evie had been trying to get all the details out of Mal since she got back, minutes before curfew started.

Mal had kept some things for herself. Sharing too much would shatter the fantasy she had built in her head. It was easier to pretend. 

“We just drove out to a spot overlooking the city. Watched the sunset. And then looked at the stars.” Mal shrugged it off. But the moment was wonderful to her. Nothing else existed. There was no plan to steal the wand. There was no love spell. There was no hatred between them because of the history between their families. “I said I hadn’t really seen the stars and she took me there.”

“So what’s the problem?” Thorn asked, straight to the point but not unkindly.

“Mal and I- we want to break the love spell. But we’re not so sure. It’s what we were discussing before you showed up.” Evie bit her lip.

“I see.” Thorn bowed her head.

“Maybe you can help us figure out what to do.” Evie tilted her head towards Mal.

“You know, for when the villains finally do invade Auradon, and begin to loot and kick everyone out of their castles and imprison their leaders and destroy all that is good and beautiful, Audrey still being in love with me just seems a little extra... cruel.” Mal looked at her hands. She could do so much damage with them. Just by grabbing the Wand.

Thorn leaned forward, elbows on her thighs. She pressed her hands together and then brought her finger tips to where Mal guessed her lips would be behind her lips. She was picking her words carefully apparently.

“I will be the first to say that Beast deserves to get his ass beat for creating the Isle and leaving children there.” Thorn pointed her hands at Mal. “Him and everyone that supported him.” She balled her hand into a fist and slammed it into her thigh. She shook her head. “But do their kids? The children of Auradon had nothing to do with this. Just like how the children of the Isle had nothing to do with their parents' sins. If your own parents could do that to their own flesh and blood, what do you think they’ll do to the children of their enemies? What do you think Gaston will do to Ben? Or Shan Yu to Lonnie. And Audrey. What will your mother do?”

“I might have a plan for that.” Mal raised her chin up, even though she was feeling the opposite of brave. 

She knew that Thorn and Evie would find the idea vile. She herself felt that way. She was starting to regret the love spell even though she had jumped right into that plan excitedly after coming up with it. While Evie was also raised on the Isle by a Villain same as Mal, the other girl was different. She chose to be kind. It was a weapon, not a weakness.

And in the short time she had known Thorn she figured the masked woman wasn’t some shining hero, but there was something about her. Like she was trying to do the right thing even if her methods would be frowned upon. She did magic. Not to mention her habit of breaking and entering. Thorn was from Auradon, but unlike the other do-gooders, she hadn’t turned them in for spelling two young Royals. She was helping them for whatever reason. Mal would take any help she could get. And she liked that feeling, that she was safe with Thorn. But everyone had limitations. 

This could be what got her friends and Thorn to abandon her.

“Mal,” Thorn called her name to get her attention. “This plan. You’re thinking about not breaking the spell. You’re wondering if you should keep Audrey under. To keep her safe.”

Evie didn’t look surprised. There was no judgement on her face though. Maybe she wanted to do the same thing for Ben. Mal was relieved but she wanted to know if Thorn was disappointed in her.

“I know! It’s disgusting,” Mal spat out. “But it’ll keep her alive. My mom will love it. I hate it.”

“Keeping the daughter of Sleeping Beauty as a pet.” Thorn inhaled deeply as she sat back in her chair. “It’s pretty fucked up. Having Aurora and Philip watch that. But it will work. Is that what _you_ want though? Can you live with that?”

“I don’t know.” Mal looked away, not able to face Thorn.

“Figure out what you want,” Thorn said firmly. “And quick. Before it’s too late.”

What did Mal want?

Mal wanted her mother to be proud of her. That’s all she had ever wanted.

But maybe she wanted Audrey.

She wanted to be cared for and to care for someone in return. Was that what love was? To be known by someone else, all the flaws and truths and failures. And still be wanted. 

Unconditionally.

No demands.

She wanted more of those moments, the ones she had with Audrey. The bad jokes. The listening. Small adventures. The comfort. She didn’t have to be Maleficent’s daughter. She didn’t have to be a leader. She was just Mal. 

Was all of that worth having Audrey anyway she could get her? An Audrey whose feelings were false. Just infatuations cast over her. The power Mal had over her.

It wasn’t worth it.

It wasn’t right.

She’d have to choose between her mother and her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The timeline of the first movie doesn't make sense so I do what I want. And made it vague. But like I did move somethings around. I made it so that Evie makes that knock out potion, since the Evil Queen made potions and keeping with the theme of everyone can do magic in this fic. ;D
> 
> Me, making Coronation the 20th is just a reference to Inauguration Day in the United States.
> 
> Next chapter is Family Day!
> 
> As always drop a comment! I love reading what you all think and seeing your theories!
> 
> Take care!

**Author's Note:**

> Love it? Hate it? Any comments are welcome. I'd love to get some.
> 
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> 
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